Judge and Jury
by Schindler13
Summary: "Since you bought the jury they'll call me guilty, even though you know the real me." A ghost of their past surfaces, unearthing with it new evidence that painted someone Steve loved in a new light. Cap/OC Sequal to Homesick.
1. What makes you happy

As promised my loves! Please enjoy this new adventure, following the time line of the movie Captain America: Winter Soldier. Just to clarify I do not own Marvel or its characters, I also do not own the quotation lines in the summary, that would be taken from a lovely Eminem song called "Good Guy". This chapter is pretty PG but just remember this is rated M and will live up to that.

Please enjoy and continue to review! I love your feedback :)

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Not much has changed since we last saw each other. The Rogers are still living happily in our nation's capital, adjusting to their new world and married life.

Edie has since taken a job volunteering at the local Veterans Affair medical center, feeling a sense of familiarity as soon as she stepped through the door.

Steve, aside from being a doting husband, a role that fit him extremely well has delved back into the world of art. Signing up for a few classes at a local university, that peaked his interest and encouraged him to explore his creative side. The couple are still contracted by SHIELD, jetting off on missions whenever duty calls, they were now a packaged deal and where one goes the other follows.

Captain and Agent Rogers.

Well enough from me, let's check in on the couple…

He stared at the red glowing numbers on the clock.

5:14 am, early to say the least.

His muscular form rolled over for the thousandth time, sleep just out of grasp. Turning to find her snuggled against the crisp sheets, ivory features in a relaxed slumber. The faint hue of white light creeping through the blinds painted lines across her silhouette.

_Don't wake her up, Steve. She looks so peaceful_.

"But I miss her." Steve answered himself, brushing a tangled curl behind her ear. He watched Edie stir lightly, moving closer to his touch.

"You awake, Gorgeous?" His whispered smirk grew wider at the sound of her protesting groan.

"Psst…" Came a playful pester from the soldier.

She peeked an eye open, revealing a sleepy green iris to study his face.

"Nobody's home."

His wife answered in a husky voice, attempting to hide her twitching smile. The sound of his soft chuckle made Edie's heart swell with groggy bliss. She felt a strong arm snake around her waist, tugging her closer. Their faces level as she inhaled the faded sent of his cologne.

"Can't sleep?" Edie's warm breath caressed Steve's cheek, as he shook his head.

"How can we remedy that?" She arched a brow with mischief, their attraction for each other was no secret.

"Well seeing as it's 5 o'clock in the morning and we are all alone in this big apartment…"

Edie hung on the dark hum of Steve's voice.

"Doll, I want what every red blooded American man wants…" He trailed off watching her eyes flicker with need.

"Let's go for a run!" The blond sprung up suddenly, pulling a startled gasp from her lips.

"Oh Steven! You jerk!" Edie barked through a recovering giggle, landing a playful smack of the pillow against his chest.

The Healer raked a hand through tousled curls, chewing her lip as her eyes traveled down his towering form that stood beside the bed. Steve's bulging muscles constricted under the thin material of his shirt, threatening to tear the seams with each movement. She desperately wanted to touch him, trace her nails across his massive chest and place kisses along that strong throat, tasting his soft skin. Edie willed herself not to travel any further, fighting the urge to imagine herself bouncing up and down on those thick thighs. The smaller Super Soldier snapped her gaze back to those steely blue orbs at the sudden sound of his voice.

"What? Did you have something else in mind, Mrs. Rogers?" Head cocked, playing his best innocent act with a smirk but Edie's narrow gaze caught onto his game.

_He was enjoying himself, well two can play at this game_.

Steve's gaze followed Edie as she slinked across the bed, stopping to stand on her knees in front of him. He felt a hand graze the nape of his neck, drawing circles in the short stubble of hair with her manicured nails. A relaxed groan rose in the Captain's throat, Edie's presence forever intoxicating.

Strawberry lips ghosted his ear and Edie could sense his elevated pulse.

"Not a thing, Captain." Edie purred, before jumping off the bed and darting towards the bathroom, laughter echoing.

"Now who's the jerk?" Steve scoffed jokingly though he could already feel the ache in his trousers.

"Can't hear you!" She bellowed from behind the door, smirking with her reflection.

The soldier shook his head with a grin as he too began to get changed. Stripping out of his pajamas and into a short sleeved shirt and athletic track pants before making his way to the kitchen. The aroma of coffee soon filled the apartment, he studied the passing clouds that engulfed the illuminating moon. His ears perked up at the sound of Edie's voice, singing softly from the bedroom.

"How long would it take me to be near if you beckon? Offhand I would figure less than a second" She hummed Bing Crosby's lyrics.

"Do you think I'll remember how you looked when you smile?"

"Only forever. That's puttin' it mild." Steve chimed in, earning a contagious giggle.

But as soon as she stepped through the doorway his laughter died out and the soldier suddenly felt that ache return, the front of his pants constricting. Steve's eyes followed Edie's curves like a roadmap, emphasized by the spandex material of her leggings and the tightness of her t-shirt.

_Oh the perks of modern day clothing_ He smirked to himself.

"Mmmh coffee…" Edie glided towards the counter, noticing him shuffle backwards.

"Teddybear..are you alright? Look like you've seen a ghost. You're quite pale." She moved to touch his cheek.

He flinched back attempting to conceal his lower half behind the kitchen island, he offered her a hot coffee mug instead.

"You are rather strange this early in the morning, soldier." Edie giggled.

Steve let out a heavy sigh of relief when Edie took a seat at the breakfast bar, feeling the blood slowly return to all the proper places.

Beginning their run as the first streaks of daylight broke through the horizon, the morning welcomed them. Being the gentleman he was Steve made sure to always keep a steady pace with Edie, but he soon found he was lagging behind her, not minding the view though.

After the transformation she was much stronger than before, able to better match his strides. Exhaustion was a distant thought to the two Super Humans as they made several laps. Edie gave Steve a playful shove as they rounded the corner, he watched the black curls of her ponytail bouncing as she took the lead. Quickly retaliating the Captain gave a sly pinch of Edie's fanny, the surprise causing her to lose her advantage and a shade of blush gracing her cheeks.

"On your left." Steve called out as they approached a fellow runner.

"On my left, got it." The man nodded, making sure to keep his position.

"Oh no you don't! On your right!" Edie piped with a challenge, feeling the burn in her thighs as her strides increased.

The stranger watched the couple sprint ahead of him as he kept his steady pace in front of the Lincoln memorial, admiring the rippling water of the Reflecting Pool when he heard familiar voices bantering. He glanced behind him and was met with the same couple.

_Were they about to lap him…again? _

"Don't say it, don't say it!" The young man bellowed, gritting his teeth he dug deep for momentum.

"On your left!"

"On your right!" Edie echoed.

"Come 'on!" He scowled, shaking his head with defeat.

Edie glanced back, slowing her pace she dropped back to join him. Despite the furrowed brow the stranger held a kind face and a welcoming grin once Edie introduced herself.

"Good Morning, Edie Rogers." She greeted, sending him a pearly smile.

"Morning Ma'am, Sam Wilson." He shook her extended hand.

"Where did you serve soldier?" Edie pryed innocently.

"Iraq. How'd you know?"

"I've been around my fair share of soldiers, can spot one a mile away." She nodded with a satisfied grin.

"Thank you for your service." Edie added.

"No need. Thank you for yours." Sam acknowledged, revealing he knew who she was.

It was hard not to recognize the duo or any of the Avengers for that matter now a days, their heroic acts to save the world wasn't something that you just glazed over in the news while looking for the weather forecast. Sam had read the endless articles written on the team and their backgrounds, he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that these two had actually been frozen in that ice all those years and now were living among the population in the 21st century.

Alive, healthy and recently married for that matter, Sam could tell the chemistry between the couple was strong.

Edie called up to Steve who quickly noticed her absence beside him, handsome brow furrowed with confusion as he scanned the area for her.

"Go ahead Dear, I'll hang back and keep my new friend company..If you doesn't mind?" Edie offered a hopeful expression towards the veteran.

"Of course not." Sam assured.

"Thank you. I'm quite winded, he could go around for hours." She rolled her eyes teasingly.

Steve made another lap, glancing back at the two talking while they jogged. Smiling wide as he watched his wife throw her head back with an echoing laugh. He soon found them resting by a tree, Edie stretching her legs as the sun grew higher in the sky.

"Hope she didn't slow you down too much." Steve jabbed, sending her a wink as he caught his breath. Edie fired back with a playful scowl, continuing to stretch.

"Not at all. Sam Wilson" Sam chuckled with a introduction.

"Steve Rogers." He offered a hand.

"I figured. You both just did like 13 miles in 30 minutes." Sam pointed out, easing back to his full height with the Captain's help.

"Well I got a late start, waiting for this one to get ready."

"Me?" Edie scoffed dramatically, swatting at his chest with a pinched smirk.

"Oh really? You should be ashamed of yourself. Take another lap. Unless you already did. I'm assuming your already did." Sam quipped causing the couple to laugh.

"Sam here did two tours overseas. Works at the VA where I volunteer, I thought he looked familiar." Edie informed, fixing her ponytail.

"How has it been since the defrosting? Bet it's pretty different for you two." The younger man asked.

"Oh yes, but not too bad. Food is much better, we use to boil everything. No Polio."

"Internet is so helpful. Once you get the hang of it. Been using it to catch up on things." Edie added with a giggle.

"Marvin Gaye, 1972. Troubleman album. It'll tell you all you need to know." Sam advised.

"Got it." The Captain nodded, whipping out a small notebook to add to their list of things to try.

"Thank you."

Sam returned Edie's pearly smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Sam. Edie we've got to get going. Duty calls." Steve held up his phone after reading a text from Agent Romanoff.

"Very. Maybe I'll see you down at the VA?"

Edie called out, accepting the Captain's outstretched hand.

"I'll keep an eye out. Nice to meet you Captain and Mrs. Rogers." Sam gave a small wave as the two retreated down the sidewalk just as a very sleek sports car halted at the curve.

"Hey, you guys know where the Smithsonian is? I'm supposed to pick up a couple of fossils. Or maybe it's the Senior Living Home, I can't remember." The redhead behind the wheel smirked devilishly.

"Very funny." Steve shook his head, opening the door for Edie as she ducked into the back seat.

"Thank you, darling. Oh Nat' how are you? It's been so long since I've seen you." Edie slipped a delicate hand over the agent's shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"Good, thank you. I know, I was on a rather long assignment in the Caribbean actually."

"Oh I'm jealous, how was it? Warm and sunny?" Edie implored.

Natasha thought back on the mission, the target had put up quite the fight. She earned herself a concussion and a sprained ankle.

"Tiring actually, glad to be back. You two up for a mission? The redhead glanced between the couple, smirking as they nodded in unison.

-0-

Adjusting the sleeve of her suit, Edie listened as the hum of her husband's strong voice handed out the mission instructions.

"Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Edie and Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move."

"STRIKE. You heard the Cap, gear up." Rumlow barked, his men falling in line.

"Secure channel seven." The Captain murmured against his wrist band.

"Channel Seven secure. Did you two do anything fun Saturday night?" Natasha quizzed, glancing between them.

"Dinner and a sappy movie." Steve shot the Healer a wink.

"Hey now, that was a good movie. You even teared up." Edie countered with a smirk, tapping her bracelets together to assemble her mechanical gloves. Blue rivers of power etched through the steel plates that molded to her hands. Picking up her baton, the instrument mimicked the blue hue once engaged with her touch, acting as an extension of her power. The advanced technology courtesy of Mr. Tony Stark, helped to hone in the mass amount of energy Edie's body held and better target her attacks.

"What was it called again?"

"Titanic." Edie recalled.

"That was it. Did you know they made a movie about that?" Rogers turned towards Romanoff, gripping his shield he descended into the opening hatch.

"Yeah I think I heard something about it." Natasha scoffed with a smirk, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"That young boy Leonardo is quite the actor." Edie shouted across the whipping wind, falling in beside the towering blonde.

"Ladies first."

Shaking her head with a giggle Edie took the plunge daringly, cool night air embracing her through the clouds.

"Were they wearing parachutes?" A STRIKE agent pointed out, watching the Captain follow suit.

"No..no they weren't." Rumlow shook his head with a lopsided grin.

Steve gripped the steel railing, water beading off his suit as he heaved over the side. Boots landing silently against the boat deck, with the element of surprise on his side he took out the first few guards with ease.

"On dirait que vous êtes sur votre propre Capitaine." _Looks like you're on your own, Captain. _

One of the guards growled, the last two cornering the soldier. Steve braced himself for their advance with a rigid stance, when a silky voice intervened.

"Il n'est jamais seul... Salut, les gars." _Oh but he's never alone…Hello boys_.

Strawberry lips smirking when the thugs shifted their attention away from the Captain and moved in for her, underestimating Edie's size and ability they fell right into the trap. With a quick motion of Edie's wrist and hard wallop of the baton the hulking men were reduced to twitching forms against the boat deck.

"Merci." Steve's velvet voice thanked with sultry appreciation as he closed the gap between them.

Normally he'd never risk getting distracted in the field but he just couldn't help himself, Edie was his favorite distraction. The combination of inviting eyes that stared back at him and glow of the overhead lights outlining her curvy silhouette had Steve itching to touch her.

"Anytime, _Mon Amour_."

Damp waves fell against her back as Edie winked up at him through hooded lashes, hand placed against her round hip in a stance that encouraged Steve's risky behavior.

Opening his mouth to breathe life to the devilish thoughts that flared each time Edie licked those pouty lips, Steve was suddenly halted by the appearance of another pirate scrambling from behind a cargo crate. The ruffian barely made it a few feet towards them when his body suddenly flopped to the ground, blood staining the deck.

"Thank you, Brock." Edie nodded with gratitude towards the descending Agent.

"Yeah you two seemed pretty helpless without me." The Agent joked dryly, looking around boat deck littered with crumpled bodies.

The group was soon joined by Natasha and the rest of the tactical squad, who began to spread out towards their designated assignments.

"If you like chick flicks Cap' you should try the Notebook." Black widow suggested mockingly, sporting her iconic smirk.

"Oh that sounds good." Edie piped, trailing after Rumlow.

"Or Pretty Woman."

"Secure the engine room, then we'll talk movies." The Captain instructed, shaking his head with a smile.

"I'm multitasking." Natasha countered before hopping over the railing to the deck below.

Steve exchanged one last look with Edie before she disappeared down the corridor with Rumlow's men, his smile growing as she blew him a quick kiss.

Filing ever so quietly into the passageway Edie assumed an agile stance behind the armor clad agents. They waited for the Captain's signal, everyone readying themselves for the fight waiting behind those doors.

Rogers's smooth voice echoed against the microphone, calming the Healer's nerves with each syllable.

"On my mark. Three. Two. One."

The ship's calm atmosphere soon exploded into a hurricane of chaos and gunfire, through the cloud of hazy smoke Edie unleashed a pattern of paralyzing spheres from her metallic palms. Leaving several mercenaries limp against the floor with the rest of their crew.

"I told you, SHIELD doesn't negotiate." Sitwell spat towards the deceased body of the lead pirate.

Retracting her metallic glove Edie knelt down to access the hostages for any severe injuries. In the process of giving a nod of clearance towards Agent Rumlow she noticed a straggling pirate escape through the nearest doorway.

Darting over the wreckage and limp bodies Edie followed his trail, ducking through the door way she was met with a deserted corridor. Like a silent cat she slinked down the grated ramp in the cover of shadows, her attention catching the bloody handprint smeared across the wall.

"Chienne mutante!" _Mutant Bitch!_

A gruff voice breathed against Edie's back, accompanied by the swing of a heavy pipe. Whipping around just in time the woman dipped low to miss the blow, rusty metal landing against the adjacent wall instead.

"Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire sans ton précieux mari?"

_What are you going to do without your precious husband?_ The pirate sneered a greasy smile.

His bulky form towered over her as he advanced forward, Edie's back was soon met with the cool edge of the railing. Emerald eyes quickly scanned over the brute's body, accessing his weaknesses in seconds.

_Trick knee, Left. Sports injury._

"Comme ce que vous voyez?" _Like what you see?_ He flashed another grotesque smile

"Ne vous flattez pas." _Don't flatter yourself._ She spat back, ducking as he lurched forward.

Edie was able to bob and weave out of range of the first two but the third blow collided with her cheek and she felt a hard yank as he caught her hair.

"Hostages en-route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play. Edie's MIA." Rumlow's voice hummed across the groups earpieces.

Shaking off the growing stars that clouded her eyes, the burning pain reddened her cheek. Edie shifted the weight of her body and catapulted both legs into the man's weak knee, dropping him with a thud.

"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages. Edie come in."

Edie clicked her earpiece to quickly answer Steve when a harsh tug against her leg dropped her against the grated ramp and the crushing weight of the man was on top of her, pawing to hook his meaty hands around her throat.

"Stev-"

Edie's voice was cut off with a long silence.

The Captain felt his heart clench, the desperation in her tone rising a cool sweat of fear up his back.

"Natasha! Edie!"

Minutes felt like hours, stretching on in a painfully slow march.

"I'm on it!"

Edie's voice suddenly panted across the microphone, scrambling backwards from the paralyzed man, a burn could be seen against his chest where her electrical charge had entered his body. Sprinting back down the ramp, Edie made her way back to Rumlow's position.

Steve felt a cooling wave of relief hush his anxiety as her voice surfaced over the intercom but he was soon faced with his own thug to battle when Batroc slinked from the shadows.

The fight with Batroc soon landed Steve in the control room with a particular missing agent.

"Well this is awkward." Natasha's voice caught Steve's attention as he erected to his full height.

"What are you doing?" Steve moved closer, brushing off the shattered glass.

"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into."

"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing in here?" Steve's voice held an edge.

"Edie had it covered, she's stronger than you think." Nat reminded, fingers skating across the keys. He closed in behind the redhead, reading the data that filtered across the screen.

"You're saving SHIELD Intel." Diamond eyes concluded with disappointment, he turned a stern gaze towards Natasha.

"That's the point. Whatever I can get my hands on."

"Our mission is to rescue hostages."

"No. That's your mission. And you've done it beautifully." Nodding with a tight smile Natasha swiped the flash drive from the slot when the Captain caught her arm.

"You just jeopardized this whole operation."

"I think that's overstating things." She retorted with an elegant eye roll when suddenly a heavy figure darted passed the control room.

"Get down!"

The two snapped their attention towards the door at the the desperate shout of Edie's voice as she barreled through the doorway, deflecting Batroc's grenade. They're bodies were jerked roughly through the air as the explosive gave a deadly blast.

Steve's back met the mangled remains of the desk as debris rained down on every surface.

"Okay maybe this one's on me." A female voice groaned in defeat beside him.

"You're damn right." Grim eyes shot a harsh look towards the redhead, though Steve was glad for her safety there was another woman he was particularly worried about. Scrambling upward he searched frantically for the Healer through the rubble.

"Edie?" Steve's smooth voice called out in fear, until his gaze fell on the tangled legs slumped under a beam. Without hesitation the Captain gripped the heavy steel with the ease of a titan, throwing it aside to reveal her dust covered body.

"Steve."

His heart pounded as she sat up slowly, coughing away the soot. Silently thanking the man upstairs that his wife had the superhuman ability to heal, or else that blow would have been deadly.

"I gotcha, Doll." He knelt down, slipping a pair of strong arms around her with a tenderness reserved only for her. And with one last stern glance at Natasha, he was out the door.

-0-

"I'm having a meeting with Fury, I can't have this. Not only did she put the entire operation at risk she also endangered you. We wouldn't have even been up there if it wasn't for her." Iron jaw clenched tight, steely gaze watching the gentle pattern of rain against the windshield.

"I know you're upset but I'm okay and the mission was a success. I trust Natasha, maybe we should think this over a little more, we don't want to just go barging into Fury's office. It's not proper, Steve." Edie's words attempted to reason, casting hopeful eyes toward his face that lay painted with the reflection of passing buildings and red hue of brake lights.

"To hell with proper, Edie. I can't lead a mission with soldiers that have their own agendas. You of all people know how important unity is in a squad. Speaking of which what was that little stunt you pulled in the control room with the grenade? Edie that was entirely too risky."

"Is that so? Well I do recall hearing a story about a particular soldier doing something quite similar in bootcamp." Edie hummed a knowing tone, watching a flicker of a smile cross Steve's expression.

"That was completely different." Cap bit back his smirk when he knew he was cornered.

"Yes darling, getting back to your point exactly, this isn't an army. This is very different and rather sensitive. I believe this would be best handled in a different way."

"Edith, I'm speaking with him and that's final. Understand?" Steve's stern tone mirroring his expression, eyes fixated on the line of traffic ahead.

The authority that dripped from Steve's words had an affect on Edie and suddenly the city wasn't the only thing getting wet at the moment.

Edie loved every side of her husband, though his sweet and gentleman side ever apparent there was a dark and stern side of the Captain that was often kept at bay, one she found to be quite a turn on. Of course he would never make her do anything she didn't want to and he never forced himself on her but this raw authoritative look that came over him was enough to have her doe eyed and ever willing.

Edie's gaze glided down those rigid shoulders and massive biceps, broad hand gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. A burning blush crept across Edie's cheeks as her eyes landed on the taunt denim material stretched across his muscular thighs, she quickly refocused back to his face.

_Big mistake, even worse_. She thought.

Plump lips drawn perched together, Adam's apple bobbing against his strong throat. Edie's body yearned to be pressed against Steve, to sear kisses along his supple skin and feel the ever warm embrace of his arms caged around her.

"Yes, Captain."

Was all she was able to muster before daring to close the gap between them, leaning her body across the center console. So close she could smell his sweet masculine scent.

Just one little taste.

**Beep. Beep. **

His smirk unmistakable as Edie's startled body jumped with fright at the simple honk of an adjacent car weaving through the street as they eased over to the sidewalk in front of the VA building. Steve could read Edie well enough to know what she was wanting, her thoughts pouring out from those haunting green orbs. The Healer's apparent needs for him stirred Steve's own desires, naturally he couldn't keep his hands off her but he wanted to have a little fun with her first.

Ducking out into the rain, he jogged over to the passenger side, Edie's blushing face there to greet him as Steve opened the door. Just as she composed herself and stepped onto the concrete, Steve caught Edie in a close embrace and nuzzled possessively into her soft hair.

"I'm glad we understand each other, I'd hate to have to punish you…Naughty girl."

The words hummed with dark lust against her ear, and rendered Edie speechless.

Edie bit back a yelp when Steve's broad hand met her backside with a sneaky smack, making his handsome smirk grow wider with her reddened blush.

Steve craned down with the intention of a quick peck on the lips, but he quickly gave her bottom a stern squeeze when Edie dared to deepen the kiss with a flick of her skillful tongue against his bottom lip.

A light chuckle rumbled the blonde's chest when Edie groaned in frustration just as he pulled away from her prying hands and soon made his way back to the driver side.

_Greedy girl._

Steve hummed to himself, mischievous smirk twitching as he relayed that he'd be back this afternoon to pick her up. He watched from the car as Edie filed safely through the glossy door before merging back onto the road.

Destination: Fury's office.

-0- **Same day, later afternoon**.

Pushing through the double doors, the polished floors gleamed under Steve's feet as he followed the curve of the hallway, stopping at the sound of voices.

"A cop pulled me over last week, thought I was drunk. I had swerved to miss a plastic bag….I thought it was an IED."

Rogers relaxed against the door way, listening to the women's shaky words as she recounted the events, shifting his gaze towards a familiar face at the podium.

"We all have baggage that we brought back. We got to decide how we are going to carry it. Is it going to be in a big suitcase or in a little purse?...We'll discuss more of that next week." Sam concluded, nodding at the group as they stood to file out.

"Well look who it is, the running to pick up the Mrs.?" The younger man greeted with a sly smile.

"Yes sir. I just caught the last of it but wow that was intense." Steve breathed, watching as the fellow soldier began stacking pamphlets.

"It can be. People deal with it in so many different ways. I'm just happy I can help them cope."

"You lose someone over there?" Steve asked the looming question he already knew the answer to based on Sam's grim expression.

"My wingman, Riley."

"Routine night mission. Nothing crazy. When all of a sudden he was shot down. And there was nothing I could do but watch. Was hard to find another purpose while I was over there." Sam recounted, a hollowness touching his caramel eyes.

"I'm sorry." Steve offered his condolences, knowing the loss of a friend all too well.

"But now you're out in the real this. That make you happy?" Steve turned the direction of the conversation to a more elated subject.

"The people giving me orders is down to about zero now. So thinking about getting out? " Sam implored, the question catching Steve off guard.

A flicker of conflict skated across Steve's expression, attempting to figure that out before answering.

"No, well I mean maybe. I'm not sure what I would do with myself."

"Well that depends. What makes you happy, Cap?"

It was then that Sam watched the tall blonde's expression shift, a warmth lighting up his ocean eyes.

"She does."

Sam followed the Captain's gaze, meeting the familiar face of Edie Rogers as she descended the hall towards them, black waves bouncing.

"Hello, boys." Her silky voice greeted.

"Ma'am." Sam nodded shyly, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Ready to go, Doll?"

Sam couldn't help but notice the difference in Cap as soon as Edie arrived, spirits lifting and eyes sparkling.

"Yup. Have a good night, Sam."

The couple gave a wave before turning towards the adjacent door. The younger man watched with innocent envy as Steve slung an arm around Edie's shoulders, kissing her hair lightly.

"How was your day?"

Sam heard him ask just as the doors closed.

Stress of the day pooled in Steve's chest, conflicting thoughts consuming him. Both Fury's and Peggy's words battling in his conscious.

Fury had left him with a feeling of unease and suddenly an unfamiliar sense of doubt began to pool in the soldier's mind. He'd paid Peggy a visit as well, hoping to find some comfort to this apprehension in an old friend. But it seemed to only pull him down further, the deterioration plagueing Peggy's once sharp mind reminded Steve of how fleeting life was and his own displacement.

At first he was nervous about telling Edie about Peggy's existence, once he found out she was still living. But all that faded when Edie expressed complete understanding and instead encouraged him to visit Peggy, knowing how important even the smallest piece of a reference to their time was.

The Captain had been nothing but supportive and comforting to Edie with every twist and turn her discovery had brought them, the Healer knew this was her turn to do the same for him.

Blue eyes studied Edie's profile in the dying glow of the setting sun as she secured her jacket, zipping up the pockets and adjusting her hair.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Edie voiced concern at his solemn expression, lifting a hand to ghost his cheek when a strong pair of arms snaked around her waist, engulfing her into a bear of a hug.

All it took was her smooth voice to break the dam of Steve's emotions, Edie was the only one he could be real and vulnerable with. She loved him for him, he didn't have to always wear the strong stoic Captain America mask that had come to be expected of the Super Soldier, he could be the salt of the earth punk from Brooklyn and she was there with open arms.

"I love you, Edie." Steve whispered into her hair, as if he'd been holding his breath.

The sudden affection caught Edie off guard, tears suddenly pooling with a joyous smile.

"I love you, so much."

Trailing a hand over Steve's tensed shoulders, the other ran through soft tresses of sandy hair. Edie could feel his chest exhale deeply, grip tightening as he coughed back the lump in his throat. Steve's anxiety subsided with her comforting touch, he pulled back slowly to capture Edie's lips, the weight of the world falling from his strained shoulders with the taste of her strawberry lips.

"Let's go home." She smiled, forehead pressed against his as he nodded in agreement. With her arms secured snuggly around Steve's waist the bike roared to life, easing out into the city traffic towards their apartment.

Gliding onto the smooth pavement, the chugging engine died out as the click of the kickstand met the ground. The two entered the apartment building, filing up the stair when they were met with the beaming face of the neighbor across the hall.

"Hello, Kate." Edie nodded towards the younger woman, donning pink scrubs and a loaded laundry basket.

"Hey you two." Kate broke into a glowing smile, eyes lingering on the Captain as he climbed the stairs with ease.

"Ma'm." Steve returned a tight grin, following closely behind his wife.

"Um Steve, I was wondering if you could take a look at sink. It's been leaking, I'd say something to the Super but you know how that goes..I could make it worth your time. I make a mean lasagna."

Kate asked with, what Edie thought as a little too much bedroom in her eyes.

"Oh and Edie you could come too, if you're free." The younger woman added with a hint of disdain.

"Oh I wouldn't be of much help, I don't know much about sinks." Edie answered coyly, fighting the urge to spit venom.

Moving further down the hall, the Healer reminded herself not to make a scene as the leggy blonde ogled at her husband. Hearing the faint remark of Steve's voice politely declining Kate's offer for dinner Edie found herself slightly resenting his generosity at the moment when he advised Kate he'd be by sometime tomorrow to take a look at the leaky pipes.

_Probably isn't even leaking_ Edie grumbled to herself, green monster of jealousy clawing its way up her leg as she idled by the door.

"Thanks, oh and I think you left your stereo on, by the way." Kate advised before retreating down the stairs, but not before sending Steve a blushing wave.

The couple exchanged a puzzled look as Steve joined Edie at the door, both leaning in. The soft symphony of their record player filtered through the cracks with a cool sweat of unease.


	2. Branded

Happy Saturday Readers! Please enjoy the new addition, I switched it up a little in this chapter and added some POV's. Let me know what you think. Continue with the POV's or keep it third person? I'm excited to hear your feedback xooxoxox :)

* * *

Silently their eyes exchanged a glance, assessing the situation with warranted caution. They both knew the apartment had been silent when they left this morning and most certainly knew the record player hadn't been used since their dinner a few nights before.

"Fire Escape." Steve concluded, moving to retreat down the stairs.

"You go in that way, I'll use the door." Edie whispered, quietly knocking her bracelets together.

"Edie, no. Follow me. We don't know who or how many are in there." His voice hissed with whispered concern, stern gaze flickering Steve moved to cross the hall when Edie's words halted him.

"Exactly, so we flank them from both sides. I'll be okay. Now go baby, we're on the clock." Edie countered, hoping to appeal with reason she ushered him to trust her instincts.

With a reluctantly sigh, the Captain gave a short nod before retreating back down the stairs, alone. Following Edie's strategy he scaled up the fire escape, and ducked through an unlocked window.

An eerie calm blanketed the apartment, velvety notes of a trumpet floated through the air and Steve narrowed his eyes for any sign of a disturbance.

It was as Steve fully entered their home that he caught a glimpse of Edie's form slinking through the door. Reaching out for her baton that leaned idling near the table, the room was soon dimly illuminated by the glow as the weapon met her gloves.

Their gaze met through the neatly stacked shelves and Steve swiftly waved Edie to join him against the wall. The taller soldier snatched his shield from the hall and they both crept in towards the living room. Glancing back with a finger over his full lips to signal silence Steve motioned their advance along the hall, shield up and baton drawn.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, my wife kicked me out." The smooth voice of Director Fury hummed against the steady melody of the circling record.

The Super Soldiers exchanged a look of relief and lowered their weapons.

Threat averted…or so they thought.

"Didn't know you were married." Steve stated, shouldering the adjacent wall.

"A lot of things you don't know about me."

"I know, Nick. That's the problem." He murmured, stretching to turn on the light.

Edie's hand flew up to cover her gasp, the sight of Fury's battered face catching them both off guard. Pulling the cord of the lamp the wounded man typed a text.

_Ears Everywhere_.

The news prompted Steve and Edie to share a glance around their home in a new light. Edie was filled with a wave of unease, a tinge of violation budded in her stomach.

_How much had they heard? How long had these uninvited bugs been listening in on the soldiers conversations?_

"Had no place else to crash, sorry to do this to you."

_SHIELD compromised_.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Edie spoke suddenly, following the Director's movements closer.

_Us Three_.

"Just..my friends."

"Is that what we are?" Steve countered cooly.

Edie could sense the ridgid composure from earlier return to her husband's muscular shoulders, suspicion plaguing his expression.

"That's up to you."

And before any of them could register the actions, the task was already complete. In a blur three pops rang out, lacing the wall and piercing Fury's back.

"Steve get down!" Edie instinctively dove to shield the Captain, pulling them both against the glossy floor.

She then scrambled to drag the Director behind the wall, kneeling beside him. Steve joined Edie's crouched position, idly watching as his wife's hands worked quickly to evaluate the damage.

_Cracked Sternum. Shattered Collarbone. Perforated liver. _

"Trust..no one.." Fury coughed, limp hand placing a silver flash drive in the Captain's grip. Words escaped the Brooklyn native, witnessing the slow slip of life from Fury's gaze.

"Stay with me Nick!" Edie barked, hands laced over the open wounds. A harrowing feeling of dejavu crept up Edie's back, just as the front door jarred open.

"Captain Rogers? Agent Rogers?" Gun pointed the neighboring blonde scouted the perimeter.

"Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service. I'm assigned to protect you both."

"Kate?" Edie's head sprung up.

"On who's ordered?" Steve demanded, erecting to his full height to meet the Agent.

The air was knocked from Sharon's lungs and her gun fell to her hip at the bloody sight of Fury sprawled against the floor.

"His"

"Can you save him?" Agent 13 questioned in a panic, dropping to her knees beside Edie.

"I'm trying but the bullets are deep." Edie grunted, feeling the tightness rising in her own chest as the cracked fragments of Fury's sternum and shattered collarbone pieced together like a puzzle.

Steady hands skated across his form, halting at his liver and spinal cord. Edie breathed through her own pain as a faint burning crept up her back, nerves standing on edge the further she ventured.

_Lacerated spinal cord_, Edie gulped internally.

Keeping a calm exterior and racing thoughts focused on Fury's recovery, the Healer continued. Unable to keep it all contained it was her hiss of pain that caught Steve's attention, on instinct he knelt to Edie's level and hooked a gentle knuckle under her chin.

Steve felt the tightness rising in his own chest when he was met with a faint circle of white clouding Edie's jade pools.

"I'm okay. He was just hit pretty severely." She assured, returning the tender gaze of her husband.

"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs." Agent Carter's voice shouted over the radio.

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"

A sudden gleam of metal caught Steve's eye.

"Tell them I'm in pursuit."

Before Edie could infer his plan, Steve launched himself through the window and over to the next building. Thrashing through the office levels in a sprint Cap followed the assailant to the roof. In an effort to cripple the stranger's advance, Steve hurled his shield across the gap between them.

Their eyes met for the first time, hollow and calculating the blackened orbs cut through Steve. The metallic arm halted the shield and returned it through the air with a titan's ease. Steve's body was careened backwards as the shield met his chest with a crushing force and in a blink he found himself alone.

Sprinting to the building's edge, Steve scoured the very street that he and Edie had just came from but there was nothing.

Vanished before his very eyes, Steve concluded this was no ordinary mercenary.

**-0-**

The next thing Edie knew they were staring through a streakless pane of glass, bearing witness to the final moments of Director Fury.

"I thought you said you saved him."

"I did, at least I was sure I did. I accessed his injuries, I-I did everything I could." Edie's voice cracked as she answered Agent Romanoff, tears welling when the stark white sheet was pulled over his still form.

"Apparently that wasn't enough."

"Natasha." Steve scolded, stern eyes studying the icy expression of the redhead.

"No, she's right. It's my fault, I'm so sorry." Edie stumbled back, swallowing the tightness constricting her chest.

"Edie, wait-"

"I'm okay, I just-just need some air." Halting Steve with her small hand Edie retreated towards the exit, blinking back the burning tears.

Taking a deep sigh through his nose, Steve shifted his attention back to the glass.

"Tell me about the shooter." Natasha gritted, Agent Hill falling in line beside them.

"He's fast and strong. Had a metal arm." Steve recalled, vacant stare of the assailant still clear in his mind.

"Ballistics?"

"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable." Hill answered.

"Soviet-made." Natasha concluded.

"Would you like to go in and say goodbye?" Agent Hill asked gravely, hand lightly grazing the redhead's arm.

Steve stared down at the small drive in his grasp, Fury's last words echoing.

"I'll meet you in there, I'm going to find Edie." The Captain excused himself, steering around the women he followed Edie's trail.

The cool night breeze kissed his face as Steve exited through the double doors, eyes scanning the area when he noticed a shift behind the concrete pillar, a muffled cry joining the distant sounds of city life beyond the hospital.

"Marco?" Steve called out lightly, earning himself the weak giggled 'Polo' he was hoping for and watched as Edie revealed herself into the pale glow of the street lamp.

"I'm sorry Steve I-"

The tall blonde closed the gap between instantly, her distressed condition too much for him to stand idle. His body engulfed Edie and attempting to shield her from the grief.

"Don't do that to yourself. Edie, you did everything you could." Steve soothed into her shaking curls, broad hand rubbing the length of her back in slow circles.

Slowly Edie felt her tension melting into him, arms laced tightly around his waist, rooting him to her as long as she could.

The Healer ran through her evaluation of Fury's injuries a thousand times already. She swore he had a pulse when they loaded him into the ambulance, strengthened by the electrical shock she'd administered just minutes before, right? Or did it weaken and she missed it? She could still feel the sticky warmth of Fury's blood on her hands. Edie clamped her eyes shut with silent prayers that this was all a horrible, awful nightmare and that she would wake up at any moment.

Pulling back to brush away the tear stained porcelain of Edie's cheeks, Steve placed a comforting kiss against her forehead. He then guided them back into the hospital where he assured with a gentle smile that he'd be right in the hall as she went to freshen up. As Cap waited, the knowledge of the flash drive weighed heavy on the soldier's mind.

_Surely it was burning a hole in my very pocket_, he thought to himself just before he noticed an opportunity arise.

Vending machine.

The worker had just stepped away for a moment to take a call, so there it stood, open Plexiglas mouth urging Steve to make his move.

-0-

Rolling his neck slowly, the events of the night tightened in Steve's muscles as the adrenaline subsided.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" An icy tone spoke from beyond the blackness of his closed eyelids.

"I don't know." Steve exhaled through his nose, ocean gaze meeting the agent flatly.

"Cap, Agent Rogers. They want you both back at SHIELD." Rumlow's voice called down the hall, his STRIKE team clogging the corridor in a stream of black.

"Yeah, give me a second." Steve replied, mirroring a narrow gaze with Natasha before Rumlow spoke again.

More sternly this time, Cap noted.

"They want you now."

The Captain's eyes shifted towards the glossy wooden door of the bathroom as Edie filed out, tucking a black strand behind her ear she descended towards the group.

"You're a terrible liar." Natasha hissed lowly before disappearing into the crowd, passing Edie as she fell in beside Steve once more.

"Let's go." Captain Rogers gave a stiff nod, hand lacing through Edie's protectively.

Call him paranoid but something smelled differently to the soldier, something was off and his instincts told him to keep Edie close.

**Triskelion Building**

At the request of Edie they were allowed to

re enter the broken remains of their apartment to get changed. Swapping soiled clothing for their suits before the couple was then taken to the Triskelion building, just as the first streaks of the next morning lit up the sky.

They filed into the garage and were the heavily escorted to one of the higher levels, though all looked the same to Edie.

Clean, metallic, ridgid.

The car ride over had been ominously silent, packed in with several STRIKE members Edie couldn't shake this feeling as though she should be on alert. The only outlet that kept her conscious at ease was the warm engulf of Steve's hand in hers, stiffness of his gloves a rough comfort.

Agent Rumlow had been close on their heels since the hospital, looming over their shoulders with each step.

_Was this a secure transport of valued SHIELD members or the guarded movement of suspects?_

Before Edie could further explore that theory, she was met with another familiar face, known to them after last night as Agent 13.

"For whatever it's worth, you did your best." A silver haired gentleman consoled stiffly to the young woman as the duo approached.

"Thank you sir. Captain Rogers, Mrs. Rogers." Sharon greeted tightly in the fluorescent lighting.

It was then that Edie now noticed the refreshed complexion of the agent, not one of a nurse. Edie was all too familiar with the tired look of a real nurse, one beaten down by grueling tasks and constant bloody hands. The realization prompted Edie to study her clean palms, picturing the crimson red of those she'd helped and their cries a forever echo in her mind.

No, Agent 13 was most definitely not a nurse but whether she an ally to them, Edie was not sure.

"Neighbor." Steve replied coldly to the passing agent.

"Ah, Captain. Mrs. Rogers. Pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Alexander Pierce."

"Sir it's an honor." Steve extends a strong hand to the executive.

Edie mirrored his gesture and expressed a faint smile as Pierce placed a charming kiss against her knuckles.

"The honor is mine, really. Brock if you wouldn't mind showing Mrs. Rogers here to her room for some questions." Peirce waved over the officer from his stoic position against the wall.

"Room? I thought she would be staying with me." Rogers felt that tinge of suspicion again, his back stiffening in an instant.

"Just standard procedure, gives us men some time to chat amongst ourselves." Pierce spread a pearly smile between the two super soldiers.

Steve cast his gaze towards the woman beside him and gadged the suspicion clouding her own expression.

_Edie hadn't said much since the hospital, had she too picked up on the unnerving calm that stood in the air around them?_ Steve thought to himself, reluctantly letting go of Edie's hand.

The Healer fell in beside Rumlow and began to descend farther away from Steve.

Though Pierce continued to ramble on, Cap kept a focused gaze on Edie and just before she turned down an unfamiliar corridor she cast one last look at her husband.

_Trust no one…_

**-0-**

"Brock, as I said before I don't know why Fury was in our apartment." Edie reiterate for the third time already.

Frustration panned across the weathered Agent's face, continuing to pace the small office space.

"So you expect me to believe he just showed up? Unannounced and somehow ended up dead because of some mystery man? What was your description again?" Rumlow flicked through the legal pad with furious fingers.

"Ah yes, metal armed assailant. Metal arm?"

Edie sensed the younger man's seething annoyance, body language becoming more tensed the further the investigation stalled.

"Yes. Because that's how it happened. What exactly are you implying?"

"Enough!" Rumlow smashed a heavy fist against the steel table, jarring Edie back with a startle.

"That is quite enough, Brock. I want to see my husband. Now." Edie growled, white knuckling the seat of her chair with a flared temper.

The dark haired man was about to retaliate when a command across his earpiece killed the words on his tongue, and suddenly he was offering Edie a cunning smile.

"I agree, let's take a break for today. Here let me get one of my men to escort you back. I actually have some business to attend to you. It was nice to see you again, Agent Rogers."

And like a switch, the man before Edie gained a whole new demeanor.

Polite and civil before he took his leave, if that didn't put Edie on edge the Agent that took Rumlow's place surely did.

Massive and towering this stranger greeted Edie with a dangerous grin that had her nerves screaming to find an exit as he began to advance her into the corner.

"Hello, Mrs. Rogers."

**-0-** **Steve's POV**

Pierce's words planted a seed in my conscious that I couldn't shake and only seemed to heighten the pull to have Edie by my side.

After everything that happened in the last 24 hours, I shouldn't have let her out of my sight. I'd become overwhelmingly protective of her since the attack on New York.

Call me crazy, call me overbearing but when you find something in this world as special as that woman is to me, you protect it with every fiber in your body.

Even though most of the time I find her protecting me with such a fury she can't be stopped, Edie had a temper which only seemed to flare when I was put into the equation.

Now to a scrawny kid from Brooklyn that was almost unfathomable, never would I have thought a dark haired beauty with eyes like gems would protect me tooth and nail. Everytime, no matter what that meant for her well being. But as much love as those actions were rooted in, Edie's risky behavior was rather infuriating sometimes. The thought of losing her broke something within me and to think that could happen because of she was gambling her own life for me dropped me to my knees in an instant.

I vowed that day, as I cradled her fading form in my arms that I could no longer be careless. I had finally found my home in this unfamiliar and new world we'd both been thrown into and I wasn't about to let that slip through my fingers.

I mentally sorted out our sleeping arrangements as I filed into the elevator, remembering our apartment was now an active crime scene.

God I wanted sleep, I could practically feel the warmth of Edie's body against me and the soft embrace our bed.

I decided to wait for Edie in the lobby instead of attempting to navigate the seemingly endless maze of this building. Maybe we could call Tony, I'm sure he has a building in DC with a vacancy. That man had his hand in everything.

The robotic voice answered with a feminine "confirmed" and I was about to drift off into a daydream of relaxation to ease my achy muscles when an arm jarred the metallic doors open wide once more. The face that greeted me flared that very seed of suspicion ten fold.

"Rumlow, where's Edie?"

I studied a flicker of uncertainty shift in his dark eyes before he answered with a lie.

"Oh um, she decided to head to a hotel. She said she'd give you a call with the details."

Red flag.

The muscles in my jaw tensed and I tasted the familiar bitterness of regret.

_Should have never let her out of my sight._

I knew Edie well enough to know she would not just up and leave, especially after we came together. A hotel? Edie was still getting acclimated with the city, she was not well versed enough to just walk out and find a hotel all on her own.

I caged the anger rising in my chest and instead answer with a cool 'okay', knowing it would not be smart to reveal my suspicions just yet.

Every level the elevator paused at seemed to collect an increase in Agents, each more heavily armored than the next. Boxing me in the very middle of a bad situation.

It was when we were packed to capacity, tension choking everyone with silence that I could no longer curb my actions.

"So, before we begin. Does anyone want to get out?"

**-0- Edie's POV**

I wasn't sure if it was reality or my mind envisioning this beautiful mirage but there he was, blond hair peeking through the slats of the stalled elevator doors. Blinking passed the the blotches, I brought Steve's panicked expression into focus. Instinctively I reached out for him with a doped grin, awakening the pain in my broken ribs as my cells worked to fuse the bones back together.

"Edie!"

My name was a muffled demand as I eased up from the marbled floor, shards of glass dug into my palms with a stinging burn.

I struggled to piece together exactly what happened, until I saw the shattered remains of the interrogation room and the cold gaze of the man slumped in the doorway. Charred markings on his chest unmistakable.

It was a soft touch engulfing my back that erected me upward completely.

"Doll, we gotta go." Steve's voice vibrated the shell of my ear, slipping those bulging biceps under my arms and pulling me to my feet.

"What happened?" My voice sounded alien, frayed conscience still a bit hazy.

"Looks like it's just us now." He concluded the reluctant truth, strong hand lacing through mine as he chose a route down an unfamiliar corridor. Those vague words confirmed my suspicions with a cool sweat.

Here we were, branded and on enemy turf for that matter. Our military training took the front seat and soon had us assessing every corner and movement the further we trekked.

My ears perked up suddenly, catching a distant vibration of energy in the air.

"Steve." I whispered severely, giving his arm a tug.

"We've got company." I urged.

"How many?"

Closing my eyes I focused the adapting strength of my supersonic hearing to give a head count.

"9."

"Shit." Steve hissed a curse, head jerking between the open halls before us for any scrap of an exit strategy when his gaze stopped on the crystal window. Quickly glancing to the glass structure below he returned to me.

"You trust me, don't ya Gorgeous?"

Those tempting lips with their fullness and never ending sweetness twitched into a smirk the longer the leaded question hung between us.

Closing the small gap I honed in on those plump lips with a proposition of my own.

"Question is soldier, do you trust me?"

I tasted his mouth with the remnants of a busted lip before snatching the shield from his relaxed hand and giving his massive form a jarring shove.

With the shield to break my fall I hurtled through the whipping wind without a worry. Meanwhile I focused my energy on accessing Steve's nervous system and creating a protective force field around him with every ounce of energy I had.

A second shattering of glass was accompanied by the prompt shrieks and gasps of strangers below. The concrete floor welcomed me with a grueling fist.

_Ouch. _

Those once healed ribs were broken again, and I think it was safe to say I had some internal bleeding but all that seemed to fade when Steve's voice made itself known.

There was that glass again crunching under my palms, the shield suddenly weighed a ton. Easing to my knees I felt the severity of my fall consume me in a fit of bloodstained coughs.

"Damn it Edie!" Steve barked over my shoulder, scooping me up like a child before taking off in a full sprint towards the garage.

"Language." I wheezed a sickly laugh but earned only a stern and steely gaze.

"This isn't funny. How many times are you going to almost kill yourself?"

I could tell he was trying his best not to jar my recovering body too much, ducking through the double doors with a delicate scurry. Steve stopped in front of a random vehicle, placing me gently to my feet I caught his hand.

"As many times as it takes, to ensure not a single scratch finds your skin."

I studied the softening of my husband's expression, and this time earned myself a soft kiss to the temple.

Butterflies fluttered against the beaten walls of my chest and naturally I wanted nothing more than to stay rooted forever in that moment. But reality had other plans, impending capture knipping at our heels with each ticking second.

"So what's the plan? Which direction do we run? They're going to have us surrounded in minutes."

I stood back as Steve rambled off the possible routes of escape, nodding along with each honest suggestion as I nonchalantly inched closer to the window of the sedan behind me.

"If we could find a safe spot we could call-"

Sandy tresses jerked in my direction at the sound of shattering glass. With a furrowed brow the Captain concluded my plan, as an electrical pulse from my fingertips started the engine with a roar I noticed a certain blue sparkle of mischief.

"We're only borrowing it." He warned a caution.

"Of course." I nodded with a wicked smirk, following Steve's movements to the passenger door where he opened it and swiftly ushered me inside.

I squinted narrowly at the glaring sunlight that welcomed us across the cemented bridge. Steve kept a heavy foot pressed firmly against the peddle, sober gaze locked on the road ahead. Just a few more feet and we were home free, to disappear into the maze of downtown and out of their grasping hands.

But we couldn't get away that easy, now could we?

I noticed the thundering of movements vibrate the atmosphere from afar. Damming my heightened senses, I prayed that I had been mistaken.

Just a little farther, only a little farther.

Gulping back the tension tightening my throat, I dared to glance backward.

Quinjet. Approaching fast.

"Teddybear…um, we're gonna need to pick up the pace."

Steve tore his eyes away from the road and met me with a confused brow before he too picked up on the looming presence. And before we knew it we were face to face with the metallic nose of the aircraft.

A sudden whipping wind caught the waves of my hair and with it my attention.

"Edie, take the wheel!" Steve thundered against the invading sound of the outside world as the the sunroof receded backward.

Obliging instantly, I found myself in a tangled exchange of limbs and shifting into the driver's seat with a fluid motion.

"Get me as close as you can."

Fear gripped my stomach with a rush of adrenaline, I watched his muscular form squirm through the hole and out onto the car's roof, shield drawn.

Too caught up in following Steve's calculated movements through the air and onto the wing of the aircraft I failed to notice the rising spike strips until it was too late, gleaming like hungry teeth at the end of the bridge.

"Oh…dear."

The tension in the brake pads pulsed as I slammed with all my might before everything became a turbulence of glass and searing metal.

**-0- Tony's POV**

I should have know today was going to go to shit from the moment I woke up.

From the lack of my favorite brew of coffee, to the newly torn hole in my favorite Zeppelin shirt. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I got the call, garbled in a panic and unearthing a whole new can of worms.

"Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers on the line for you."

"Put him through."

JARVIS complied with a polite 'right away, sir' before all hell broke loose at the transfer beeped.

"Don't tell the honeymoon stage is over and you're already in the dog house."

I chuckled at my own jab, swirling the arm of glasses.

"That depends, do you consider being branded a traitor by the government and forced to live on the run as being in the dog house?"

Wow. I was not expecting that, and where was Steve getting his sarcasm from?

Betty Boop must be teaching him.

That's my girl, I smirked at the thought of Edie's delicate eye roll.

"Actually, I call that a Saturday night." I answered, leaning my elbows on the cool glass countertop. Steve filled me in on all the fine details through an exhausted and stern tone, earning a million thoughts to run across my perfect brow.

"So what'd you say, Stark? Think you could help us?"

The question loomed in the crisp air of my office and prompted me to glance out at the gorgeous view of the bustling New York skyline.

"And piss off higher authority?...ahh that's my specialty, Cap."


	3. When Ghosts Awaken

**Triskelion Building:**

"10 of my best men, outsmarted by civilians. One of them being a woman."

The older man's tone seethed, white knuckling the glossy desktop as the battered agents stood at attention.

The wide computer monitor in front of Alexander Pierce depicted the successful escape of both Captain and Edith Rogers, further escalating his rage with each passing second.

It wasn't until one of the men dared to speak up, that Pierce pulled his eyes away from the running loop of security footage.

"With all due respect sir, she's quite strong and protects him religiously. It was impossible to isolate him."

Rumlow's words hung in the air and sparked a dark idea in the executive's mind. Turning his attention back to the monitor Pierce's gray eyes locked onto Edie's pixelated figure, pearly smile dripping with wicked intent.

"Maybe it's not _him _we should isolate."

**-0-**

**Winter Soldier's POV:**

Again I stared at the photographs, even though I'd already memorized every aspect of their faces.

His strong jaw and blue eyes, which held a distant sadness even through the stilled image. A pattern of freckles peppered her cheeks, wild mane of blackened hair meeting her shoulders. The longer I studied the glossy still, I noticed her face expelled this genuine kindness, as if she'd been waiting for you, and only you.

And though these two were nothing more than just another file for me to close, another order for me to follow, they both held this familiarity that I couldn't quite pinpoint, neurons in my mind struggling to sift through clouded bits of memories littering my subconscious.

Recon.

That's all this mission was to be, Pierce insisted.

_Do not engage and do not lose sight of them_.

Perched above the city, one could see everything. Currents of bodies snaking through the maze of streets, starting their day much as I was.

With a duty, a job to complete.

I'd trailed the targets to a stoic building, gray and rigid as it touched the sky. I was given little detail on these two, though I could already tell they were romantically involved just through their body language. Never more than an arms length away from each other, chemistry obvious.

I stepped through the automatic doors with a ducked head, welcomed into a cloud of sterile detergent and was that…a tinge of death? Something every hospital seemed to hold.

Squinting against the stark whiteness of it all I found their backs in the crowd, but kept my distance. I still couldn't shake this feeling, one that budded as soon as Pierce presented the file. So consuming that it began to blur my usually razor sharp focus. It was as if my subconscious was playing a game of its own. Unearthing hazy fragments of memories I don't remember making.

Shaking off the wispy hands of distraction when a laugh ghosted my ear, airy and familiar, it carried with it the tart scent of lemons. I whipped around, ready for a fight but was met with only air.

Why was my heart pounding?

A distant scuffle from behind caught my attention and reminded me of reality.

Shit. I'd let my guard down.

My eyes wildly darted through the thinning crowd, finding them in a hushed altercation with a new figure. Red hair fell from beneath her hood as they cornered her backward.

Swiftly I ducked behind the cover of a vending machine, just as a group of chatty nurses stalled for a snack. From the concealed position I tuned out the women's cackling banter and narrowed my focus in on reading the blond male's lips. From his tenses profile I could tell he was irate. Iron jaw flexed and imploring a harsh interrogation towards the redhead, but I also couldn't miss the gentle hold he kept on the Healer's hand, as if she may disappear in a blink of an eye.

In this line of work, you became an expert at reading people. Reading their demeanor, their mannerisms and soon you knew their next move before they did.

But what you didn't do was make it a habit of learning people's names.

But I knew his: Steve Rogers, born July 4th 1918 in Brooklyn, New York.

My attention strayed from the movement of his lips to the curve of his face, noticing the messy nature of sandy tresses falling across his brow. A sudden fleeting scene clouded my vision, stealing my attention.

_Two young boys sprinting through a littered street, makeshift kite swerving in the cloudless sky above._

"_Look Buck! We did it!" A pair of blue eyes gleamed with a gap toothed grin. _

And as soon as it appeared, the memory vanished but left behind a humming headache.

_Who were these people?_

Deep breath. In and out. Focus.

The fluorescent light above flickered and reflected a silvery ray as the redhead held up a flash drive to Steve.

A tinge of nausea began to settle in the pit of my stomach as the buzzing in my head increased. Soon accompanied with a dull ache in my shoulder, just above my heart. Before I could collect myself they were on the move for the exit. I found myself struggling to keep up with their quickened pace, all my senses screaming at once.

The dull ache flared to a severe stabbing and I found myself clutching at my shoulder desperately for relief, all the while trying to keep a safe distance. But soon, swearing I was caught when Edith turned abruptly, I snaked behind a corner. It was then that I noticed she too was palming her own shoulder.

Like a stone in a rushing stream, the Healer stayed rooted to the glossy tile. Haunting jade eyes muddied with a furrowed brow.

Was I compromised?

Couldn't be, she would have already made a move by now. Alerted the others.

Then something clicked.

She didn't _see_ me.

She _sensed _me.

I read the conflict racing across her ivory features when Steve halted in his tracks, beckoning her urgently.

She gave one last scan of the paled hall, before retreating toward the door and I felt myself breath again. With a stumbled pace I followed their trail out into the city once more.

The crisp air of the bustling street whipped past my cheeks with a burning coolness. I made it out just in time to watch their black sedan merge into the lanes of traffic.

I felt my body finally succumb to this phantom illness, falling back into the shadows I clawed furiously to peel off my leather jacket.

Ripping down the material across my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of a silvery circle branded into the skin just above my heart.

Had that always been there?

The bitter taste of blood and gritty soil coated my mouth and soon I was ambushed by a shouted command.

Was that German?

But there wasn't a soul around me, at least not one that even cared to take notice of the rabid man hunched into the alley. Panting rapidly I collapsed against the rough bricks as a new rush of memories made themselves known just as a lemony scented darkness engulfed me.

**-0- **

**Steve's POV:**

I shifted the glasses up the bridge of my nose, still getting use to wearing them. But what I was really trying to do was not stare at Edie.

Natasha had picked our disguises with the help of one of Tony's many financial advantages. We were to blend in with the use of popular styles worn by everyday Americans as we entered the mall. We had mulled over the idea of reading the flash drive contents at Tony's safe house we were currently stowed away at but the impending collateral damage pushed us towards the more public route.

I snuck another sly glance at Edie's denim clad backside, the tight material hugging her hips in an acid washed skinny style. If that wasn't distracting enough, Natasha had picked her out a "crop top" that fought to keep my eyes wife's ample chest under wraps. The lack of material also gave way to reveal the silvery scar that was now forever present against the curve of Edie's waist. A souvenir from the battle in New York, when she had insisted on healing me despite her compromised defenses.

I'd seen it countless times, trailed my lips against the paled flesh tattoo that commemorated her sacrifice and commitment to me.

The first time I noticed it, I felt sick, a cool sweat blanketing me when I inferred its origin. It wasn't because I thought it was a flaw, or that Edie was somehow less attractive in any way. She was gorgeous. Radiant in my eyes, both inside and out.

No, I was overcome with grief to know that I had caused this, I had weakened her and left behind a jagged swipe of paled flesh as proof.

She'd read the horror in my expression that day and heard the hitch in my voice when I asked the looming question,

"_Is that…"_

Was all I could manage to get out, the breath escaping me.

"_A badge of honor, worn proudly." Edie inserted, assurance reaching those jade irises. Her hand engulfed mine, steady and gentle as she trailed my fingers the length of it._

"This place?" Edie suggested, peering into the electronics store as she adjusted her maroon colored beanie.

Following Natasha's lead into the store front, we soon found ourselves idly standing by as the the well versed Agent maneuvered through the many applications on the computer screen.

I couldn't help but feel the need to keep looking over my shoulder, suspicion a permanent resident now in the back of my mind.

"First rule of being on the run, don't run. Always walk, be cool Rogers." Natasha murmured, never taking her eyes away from the glossy screen.

"I think if I tried to run in these shoes they'd fall off."

I turned to Edie's giggle, eyes scanning between our newly acquired footwear.

"Really? I like mine." Edith hummed, admiring the suede material of her…UGGs? I believe that's what Nat called them.

"Do you? Well maybe you'll just have to start dressing modern more often." I teased, watching her nose scrunch at the thought before she beckoned me in for a whisper.

"I'm not sure if you noticed this or not Teddybear, but these clothes are a bit…revealing."

I fought the urge to kiss her right then, hearty chuckle passing my lips instead.

Had I noticed? What hadn't I noticed?

My hands were itching to touch her from the moment she'd step out into the hall at the safe house, curves illuminated by the tight material and glowing lights above.

But before I could breath life to any of those roaming thoughts Natasha spoke up.

"Well, ladies and gents. Looks like we'll be having company soon."

My mind refocused, danger looming at the door.

"How long do we have?" I was afraid of the answer before I even asked.

"Hmmm, I'd say about 9 and half minutes from…now."

The click of the drive into the computer set in with a cooling shiver between us all.

The countdown began.

I don't believe Edie or myself were quite following Natasha's jargon as she muddled through the contents on the drive. That was until a name popped up, a location.

Wheaton, New Jersey.

**-0-**

"Since when does Captain America condone stealing cars?"

I didn't even have to take my eyes off the painted pavement to hear the smirk in Natasha's voice.

"Since I know what's good for me, you think I'm going to argue with this one?"

I nodded towards the back seat, watching from the corner of my eye as Edie shook out her black waves from the confines of the knit hat.

"Plus we're only borrowing it, Natasha."

I received a winking grin in the rearview, Edie's teasing tone mocking my words.

"So Nat', speaking of what's good for you. How about you? Anyone new?"

Edie pried for some girly gossip, dark waves cascading over my shoulder as she leaned in eagerly.

"Hmmm, not exactly. Hard to find a guy that's okay with my…line of work. I usually just make something up."

"That's a tough way to live." I thought aloud, watching the sun dip lower in the sky.

It would be nightfall by the time we reached the destination, unaware of what exactly waited for us at the end of the those coordinates hopefully the shadows would be on our side.

"Yeah, but it's an easy way not to die."

Natasha answered cooly, gaze locked on the shifting screen of her phone.

And suddenly I felt very sorry for her, had she ever been her true self with anyone? I understood the life of an agent was one of sensitive information and high reward, but what did you have to sacrifice for it?

Did she trust anyone the way I trusted Edie? To have a true counterpart, one that had your back at all times and that you would literally trust with your life.

"Wellll…maybe it doesn't have to be so hard, I think there's someone that is already okay with your line of work." Edie hummed a knowing tone, ruby lips curving upward in an alluring smirk.

"A certain...doctor." She further elaborated, wiggling a manicured brow.

"Bruce? Ohhh no, we're just friends." Natasha immediately dejected, but I noticed a flicker of emotion come across the Agent. Was she blushing?

Edie always knew how to lighten the mood, here we were fugitives of our own country and she was playing matchmaker.

The truck's tires crunched against the gravel as it eased to a stop in front of the rusted gate that read: Camp Leigh.

"How do you know this place again?"

I briefly registered Natasha's question as she rounded the truck's front end. But I couldn't answer, fixed in a memory haunted trance.

I had expected to feel a sense of sentiment when we arrived, but I hadn't prepared myself to be so affected with nostalgia. Stunned into silence.

Had it really been so long since I had been here? This place where it all began.

Empty to the public eye but a homecoming for me, welcomed by the ghosts of my past as they came to life the further we ventured into the forgotten camp.

"He was trained here, as were some of the men I'd met over there ." Edie answered in my absence, picking up on my distracted state.

The voice of my drill sergeant ghosted my conscience with a vivid command and I was met face to face with my former self.

_Rogers fall in! Rogers! _

Cheeks flushed and panting hard, my uniform swam on my scrawny figure as I struggled to keep up.

How did I get here? How had so much happened in the time that I was gone and yet it felt like just yesterday that I was in this very spot. Scrambling up the ropes and crawling elbow deep in mud beneath the serrated teeth of the barbed wire pits.

Just when I thought it would all consume me, drag me back into the daunting thoughts of what I lost, Edie filed in beside me with a silent comfort. The ghostly scene before me faded quickly when those jade eyes glowed in the reflection of the moon and found me in the shadows.

A soft touch against my hand gently pulled me back to reality and I couldn't take my eyes off her, the haloed moon painted her features in a paled hue.

Natasha's assessment from afar were mere muffles to me as I stared longingly at the welcoming smile of my wife.

How'd a weakling from Brooklyn end up with such a treasure?

It was as I craned down to taste the skin of her hand in mine that I noticed it.

The ammunition building.

Without another thought I was crossing the courtyard, tugging Edie closely to my side.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the building is in the wrong place." I breathed my conclusion, rationalizing my sudden hot pursuit to the confused women at my side.

We crept into the musty atmosphere, welcomed by rows of abandoned desks and scattered documents. But I couldn't pull my eyes off the familiar winged crest illuminated under the flickering fluorescent light.

This was a SHIELD headquarters?

We'd soon found ourselves descending through a secret passageway and into an awaiting elevator. Cautiously we entered the lower level, cluttered with electronic equipment varying in sizes and snaked with countless wires.

Before I could voice my opinion, Natasha was clicking the flash drive into the open mouth of the blinking black box placed on the counter top. The screens around us soon awoke with a melody of clicks and a robotic hum.

"Initiate system?" The mechanical voice questioned across the flickering monitor.

With nimble fingers Natasha typed across the keyboard and inputted a command.

"Shall we play a game?...it's a movie-"

Edie threw up her hand in protest.

"Don't remind me." She gave a physical shiver of disgust at the plot of the movie.

I was about to voice my agreement when again the computer spoke but this time there was something different, something familiar.

"Rogers, Steven. Born July 4th 1918."

I watched the camera lense pan from myself to Natasha, verbalizing her identity as well. But that was a mere muffle compared to Edie's gasping shuffle backward into one of the heavy towers.

My attention snapped to her direction, brow furrowed at the sheer horror painting her ivory features but soon it all clicked just as the camera too locked its attention on the visibly shaken Edie.

"Erskine, Edith. Born September 28th, 1920. Ah, yes we knew who you were even before you did. How nice to see you again, Fraulein. Did you miss me?" The mechanical voice taunted in a distinct accent.

Dr. Zola.

I felt the heat rising within, boiling my blood with every passing second. I could read the tears welling in Edie's eyes, threatening to spill over the more the pixelated face continued to provoke her.

"No..it can't be."

I barely recognized Edie's voice, weakened and hoarse with shock.

Edie and I shared mostly everything. Countless stories, memories, a bed. But I had to admit she rarely spoke about exactly what she endured as a POW, and I hadn't pressed her about it. Only made sure to be there when she was plagued with vivid nightmares that woke her in a cold sweat or when a certain face in a crowd had her halted on the sidewalk in a dazed state.

But this was as if one of those nightmares had come to life, the look on Edie's face had my heart in pieces.

I concluded that all those demons and haunting ghosts that scarred Edie's pure soul were caused by the very man speaking. He was sneaking his way back into her conscious and crippling Edie with every syllable.

"Ah but it is. Weren't you listening to me? When I had you strapped to that table, when you were nothing more than my lab rat. Begging for us not to harm him. You'd do anything for the safety of your _precious_ Sergeant. You must remember." Zola seethed, breathing life to the very memories Edie tried so hard to bury.

My beautiful Edie. My strong, fearless Healer was reduced to a quivering leaf by this weasel of a man, hiding behind an encrypted software.

"I'll..I'll never escape the claws of HYDRA." Edie recited the answer Zola was looking for in a tear filled whisper.

And despite the artifical face, Zola emitted a satisfied smugness.

"That's right, _Jude_."

I watched Edie stiffen at the word, and though I wasn't fluent in German, that was a word I'd quickly learned while overseas whether I wanted to or not.

Jew.

"That's enough!" I growled, squaring my shoulders and obscuring the cowardly doctor's view of Edie.

"How are you here? You died." Natasha stepped in, swiftly redirecting the conversation.

"Look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

Zola's words fell against my back as I turned to Edie.

"Are you alright?" I spanned a hand across her flushed cheek, bringing her from the depth of her dark thoughts.

"I just…" Edie searched for the words in the steady rise and fall of my chest.

"Wasn't expecting to be blindsided by the past?"

I watched Edie's glossy waves bounce with a buckling nod before I engulfed her into a protective embrace+.

"Me either. But you're safe and he can't hurt you, Doll. He's gotta go through me first. They have no control over you anymore." I vowed, rubbing a pattern of soothing circles against her back.

"Um, Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops."

It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?

I looked up just in time to catch the vaulted doors moving to lock us in, and with a quick lunge of my shield I tried to wedge the iron mouth open.

"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Just remember, cut of one head and two more shall appear." Dr. Zola gave a last hail to HYDRA before all the screens blackened in a silence.

Sighing in defeat when my shield bounced back with a forceful speed, I caught a glimpse of the grated vent in the floor.

Without a word I hauled off the steel bars and beckoned everyone inside.

"Get down, I'll try to contain the blast." Edie urged, refusing to join us in the shallow cover. I noticed the twitch of her wrists ignite the glow in her fingers.

Knowing I didn't have time to argue, I lunged upward and swiftly snaked an arm around Edie's waist and pulled her under the protective layer of my body.

"Not this time, Gorgeous." My voice murmured against her ear just as the building above us was consumed in a fiery blast and a hailstorm of debris began to rain down.

**-0-**

**Bucky's POV:**

Mud sank beneath my boots, rain pelting harshly against the tin roofed homes that lined the small village around me.

The sun fought to surface above, caged behind a cluster of charcoal colored clouds that painted the town in a haze.

I'd been here before.

That nagging familiarity was back and it beckoned me urgently that I'd lost something.

Someone.

I took in the scenery before me, scanning the deserted streets and passed an abandoned shop window when I saw it.

My reflection.

A neatly cropped haircut, crisp and decorated uniform that read…Barnes?

I glanced down at my attire and halted everything, but this time not at the presence of something but rather the absence.

No metal arm.

I flexed my left hand, studying the blue road maps just beneath the skin that flowed life through my newly returned limb.

Before I could further inspect my altered appearance, a voice surfaced.

Strained and waning.

"_Bucky…"_

Before I knew it, my legs were moving on their own in the direction of the feminine cry for help.

"_James! Please!"_

I picked up my pace, desperately seeking out her location but each time I seemed to get close, the voice faded further away and slipped from my grasp.

It was as I scrambled down one of the countless side streets that I caught sight of a crimson pattern against the muddy ground. Following the trail of blood drops, I was brought to what remained of a home, bruised and battered by a strangers' war. I peeked through the doorway, squinting against the stream of clouded sun and showering rain that pooled from the gaping hole in the roof above.

My eyes scanned the shadowy room, assessing that a brute struggle had taken place here but my gaze halted at the sight of the motionless body that lay crumpled against the floor. The sun breaking through just enough to catch the gleam of a shiny swastika pinned to the corpses chest pocket. A muffled rattle from the corner broke my attention away from the unidentified enemy soldier.

"Nightingale..?"

My silhouette cast further through the archway as I called out a name before my brain could even register. I took a step closer and felt a fierceness invade my chest, a mixture of panic and rage.

Her quivering form crouched against the rubbled bricks, eyes clamped shut and splattered with blood.

The sight of the red liquid coating her uniform and ivory skin made me sick, fear rising at the thought of her injured.

"Doll, are you alright?"

Instantly I threw my hands up when she shuffled backward in fear, assuring that I meant no harm. The shock that gripped her conscious was obvious, adrenaline still pulsing through her veins.

"Hey, it's okay it's just me. It's Buck."

I crouched to her level, slinging off the rifle at my back, I made sure to keep my hands up and visible.

She reached from the shadows and it was then that I recognized her fully. Emerald eyes glazed with exhausted tears, pouty lips buckling as she struggled to speak.

Edie.

"Buc-" Her voice hitched.

The muted sun revealed the bruising against her throat and tattered material of her uniform.

My fear boiled to anger and I fought the urge to beat the already bloody corpse, to seek my own revenge.

"Here."

I slowly began to unbutton my shirt, slipping it off I kept my distance to not startle her again.

I watched as a delicate hand reach out, gripping the olive material she snaked it over her torn uniform. But I felt my heart sink as Edie's trembling fingers struggled with the buttons.

"May I?"

Black waves nodded slowly but her eyes fell to the scuffed leather of my boots. Though she was just inches away from me, so close I could feel her shaky breaths, Edie was miles away.

"Are you hurt?" I kept my voice as gentle as my touch, working my way up the buttons.

Again Edie gave a silent shake of her head, eyes studying the rise and fall of my chest through the thin undershirt.

"This is all…his..blood?"

Her chin buckled at the mention of the attacker. I fought the sudden urge to wrap myself around her, shield this delicate flower from the harsh whirlwinds of the outside world.

"You're safe now, Edie..I'm so sorry.."

What could I say? I couldn't take away the pain she felt, the trauma she'd endured. All the words clogged my throat.

"This will never happen again, I promise. I'm going to protect you."

A pair of warm hands clasp over my own as I fastened the last button, prompting me to shift my gaze to meet her.

"James..tak-take me home."

My expression softened, watching the tears slip down her soot smudged cheeks, without another word I slung my gun across my back and snaked my arms around Edie, cradling her protectively. A trail of bloody finger prints followed Edie's hands as she gripped me tighter, taking shelter against the crook of my neck with a heated sob. I whispered soothing words into the softness of her hair, kissed by a lingering scent of citrus.

I'd found what I was looking for, I'd saved her.

A sense of content bloomed in my chest and I was about to step back out into the rain soaked town when something turned me back around.

Or rather someone.

Taking the place of the Nazi officer sprawled against the rubbled floor, was another familiar face.

A beaten and bloodied Steve Rogers.

His steely blue eyes glazed over and locked onto my horrored expression.

"I trusted you…I trusted you both.."

A cough stained his full lips with a crimson trail of blood.

A shock bolted me upright, panting furiously I struggled to catch my breath. I was welcomed back to reality by the rigid atmosphere of my room, cell is a better word to use. Housing only a bed, desk and bathroom, it was meant to make me feel at home and yet all it did was remind me I was nothing more than a utensil for them. Stored neatly away until needed once more.

A cool sweat covered my trembling body and soaked my sheets, instinctively I glanced down at my arms that once cradled Edie's body but was met with only air and the metallic gleam of my left arm. The absence of her left a void in my heart, one I didn't know existed until she was taken. Steve's waning expression haunted me in the darkness, his last words still ghosting my conscience.

Before I could even process what was happening the room was bathed in a blinding ray of fluorescent lighting and the bolted door buzzed open.

My eyes fought to adjust to the sudden light, blotchy and unfocused I made out Pierce's face.

"Oh good, you're awake. You have a mission."

A heavy folder fell with a soft thud against the crumpled blankets.

"Extraction and this time try not to lose them. We wouldn't want that type of sloppy behavior becoming a habit, now would we? Get him up, get him prepped."

A shaky hand reached out and dared to reveal the contents of the folder. A shiver climbed my spine when the photos fell from the shuffled stack of documents.

Soon with a quick snap of Pierce's fingers the dark guards standing idle by door jumped to action and were moving to haul me away.

"I know them."

My words fell against the back of the older man's pristine suit, halting his feet with a muffled squeak.

He didn't even dare to face me, only took a deep inhale and barked a final order before slinking out.

"Wipe him."

**-0-**

After, nearly escaping death and HYDRA agents the trio fled back to the safe house. But not before stopping off at a certain paratrooper's house, with little persuasion needed they soon added a fourth person to their group.

Sam Wilson.

Taking a moment to get cleaned up and reconvene the group began mulling over their newly acquired information and discussing their next step, but what they hadn't disclosed to Natasha was the existence of a particular doctor also staying at the safe house.

"Bruce? What are you doing here?" Natasha puzzled, suddenly very aware of her disheveled appearance.

"Same as you, laying low. Ever since the whole New York…situation. I've been kind of a hot topic in the science department and not in the good way. Tony let's me stay here from time to time." Bruce informed, shy demeanor heightened in front of the red head.

Bruce was well aware of the circumstances they all were under, he'd agreed to stay back at the base as backup in case their plan went south.

Steve toweled off his hands and felt the ache in his muscles slowly fading as he shrugged on a fresh shirt. He soon caught sight of Edie in the reflection of the mirror, a distant look on her face as she adjusted her blouse. Returning the towel to the rack, the soldier crossed the plush carpeting and found his spot beside her.

"Hey." Pale blue eyes studied the Healer's profile, noting the tight grip wrenched around the soft leather jacket held in her lap.

"He called me Erskine." Edie reflected, searching the neatly furnished room for the answers.

"How..? How did they know?"

_They. Johann Schmidt. _

Steve remembered back to the night before his procedure, the accented words of Dr. Abraham Erskine depicting his life on the run from Schmidt. Had the doctor known of Edie? Had Schmidt extracted that information and used it against Erskine, to get what he wanted?

After the last few days Steve had learned HYDRA had their claws in everything, blooming a cancer in the very heart of SHIELD from within. He wouldn't doubt that Red Skull had the means to hunt Edie down and take her hostage, knowing who's blood ran through her veins and the power she held.

Steve was use to taking action, of having a plan but for the first time in a long time, as he stared at the lost expression of the woman beside him the Captain felt a looming sense of helplessness.

The words formed on Steve's lips and before he could stop himself they were out in the open, hanging between them.

"Back there, was Zola talking about Bucky? Did you sacrifice yourself to save him?"

Edie took a moment, breathing through the emotional wounds that scarred deep.

"Yes, I agreed to undergo these experiments as long…as long as they ensured his safety. I would have done anything to save him."

Steve watched the anguish flicker across Edie's face in a stern gaze towards the floor.

"They did..horrible, unspeakable things to me. But-But nothing was worse than seeing the pain on his face. And all that was brought back as soon as I heard Zola's voice. Maybe he's right, maybe I'll never escape them."

Steve quickly took Edie into his arms, forcing her emerald eyes to look at him.

"We're going to stop them Edie, I promise. What you did, what you sacrificed won't be for nothing. They won't win."

It was time to snuff out HYDRA once and for all.

**-0-**

Sam gripped the steering wheel, weaving the van through traffic as quickly as he could without raising suspicion. They had to get to Triskelion before HYDRA realized Sitwell's disappearance, he was their key through the DNA scans.

"Did we really have to use a minivan? Not exactly practical for a time sensitive mission." Natasha exhaled in a mono tone.

"Hey, this is very roomy and I have you know I'm doing 65." Sam huffed.

"Whoa, slow down Speed Racer." Natasha scoffed, pulling a laugh from the group at Sam's expense.

"How long until they launch the Hellicarriers?" Edie leaned up from the back seat.

"Not sure exactly, could be hours, days, weeks. Hopefully we'll find out once we have access to their system. Top priority is to take down those carriers." Steve's strong voice answered, craning his neck to place a kiss against Edie's cheek.

"HYDRA doesn't like leaks." Sitwell suddenly blurted, sweat beading against his brow.

"So why don't you try putting a cork in it." Sam barked with a stern gaze through the rearview.

"Ooo someone's sassy today." Edie sang, sending the Falcon a wink in the mirror.

Opening his mouth to reply when a thump was heard against the roof above. In a blur of glass and metal Sitwell was torn from his seat and thrown into oncoming traffic. Edie sprung from her seat, shoving Steve against the passenger door and clear of the line of bullets that ripped through the van just as one grazed her arm. Steve braced Edie protectively against his chest, her legs tangled around his waist as he snaked an arm to pull the emergency break.

The sound of screeching tires echoed across the highway. The metal armed assassin flew from the roof and tumbled across the hot asphalt in front of them, just as another car smashed into their van pushing them further down the busy road. In a flash the masked man recovered, leaping onto the hood he ripped the steering wheel from Sam's grip, his silver hand grasping towards Edie. Natasha let off a few shots in his direction, managing to frag the metal arm enough he pulled back.

"Edie, take the shield and Sam. You know what to do!" Rogers instructed watching her black waves nod.

She felt the cool metal slip across her forearm as Steve broke off the ragged remains of the passenger door. Steve gripped Natasha's hand, pulling her against the door before leaping through the gap.

"Let's go soldier." Edie moved towards the wind whipping hole, extending her hand with a weak smile.

"You're smiling? At a time like this? Mrs. Rogers you got a weird sense of humor!" Sam shook his head, and before he knew it they were huddled together against the metal disk, skating down the city streets.

Scattering in all directions, Edie found herself knelt behind a parked car. Craning to check for the position of the assailant. Horror pooled in Edie's chest as she caught the scene in the windows reflection, a familiar blonde falling from the bridge and into a moving bus. Several heavily armed men had surfaced, peppering the air with countless rounds of bullets.

"Steve!"

Fear gave away her position.

Panic gripped Edie's throat as she watched the masked man turn slowly from his perched position on the bridge, metal arm gleaming in the burning sun. In hopes of drawing him away from the rest of her team, Edie stepped into full view before bolting in the opposite direction.

"Она моя." He growled in a monotone, eyes locked on the head of black hair weaving farther down the crowded streets.

_She's mine. _

* * *

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	4. Second Nature

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* * *

The cloudless blue sky above welcomed him back to reality through the shattered remains of a window, birds flapping happily with little regard to the havoc unfolding below. Steve felt the burning spread throughout his muscles and as he eased up from the splintered glass there was only one thought that entered his mind.

Edie.

Without much time to recover the Captain sprung up at the sound of bullets ripping through the mangled bus. Ducking through the crumpled door he snatched the abandoned shield from the pavement and moved to disable the machine gun. It was then that he noticed the metal armed assailant in hot pursuit after a familiar leather jacket. His feet moved on their own but he couldn't abandon a fellow soldier. Casting a conflicted expression towards Sam, who was fiercely retaliating against the armed mercenaries that seemed to multiple by the second, Steve's mind flew in a million directions.

Seeming to sense the transparent battle etched across Steve's troubled face, Falcon urged the Captain.

"I got this! Go!" He called out over the artillery fire and with a swift nod the Super Soldier was gone.

Steve recognized a familiar voice as he rounded the corner, but it held a ragged urgency that put the soldier on edge.

"Run Edie!" Natasha vocalized, gun drawn as the Winter Soldier advanced towards her.

With a running start Steve jumped the assassin, sending the firearm scattering towards the gutter.

"Steve! He's after Edie!" Natasha piped from her fallen position against the parked car, clutching her bleeding shoulder as the two exchanged blows.

Steve fought to keep the mercenary away from Edie, heaving him against the adjacent car. Meanwhile the Healer skirted towards the fallen agent, hand moving towards the seeping wound.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" Black Widow hissed, urging Edie away.

"I'm not leaving either of you!"

It was just as the hitman lunged after Edie, hands grasping roughly towards her crouched form that Steve caught his sleeve. Serving a right hook to the man's cheek, and sending his black mask skating across the rubble. Whipping around to face the towering blonde, the Winter Soldier's identity was revealed.

**Edie's POV: **

The world seemed to fall away and time froze in its place as the name fell from Steve's lips.

"Bucky?"

I felt my blood run cold, slowly shifting my attention away from Natasha's injury, I dared myself to turn around. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath until a gasp escaped my lungs with a burning relief.

The curve of his jaw, dark chestnut hair whipping across those haunting eyes that brought it all back.

My heart seized.

"Who the hell is _Bucky_?"

His husky voice growled in an unfamiliar tone, gaze locked on Steve with a narrow scrutiny.

All my senses were stripped, fumbling forward on new legs I inched closer.

"James?"

I hadn't realized I'd spoken up until Buck's vacant eyes glazed towards me, and for a brief moment I witnessed a flicker in his eyes, fleeting and familiar something surfaced.

Recognition.

But with a quick motion the moment vanished and his gun was pointed directly at Steve.

"No!" I screeched, instinctively leaping to cover Steve just as Falcon swooped in. The younger man swiftly knocked Bucky to the ground and I felt the hard concrete break my fall for a second time that day.

The rubble dug into my palms with my quick scramble upward and I was welcomed into the outstretched arms of my Captain. I melted into that sweet shelter with exhaustion, wanting nothing more that to open my eyes to find us on the couch, in one of our lazy Sunday rituals of TV marathons, chocolate chip waffles and the forever tangle of each other's embrace.

But we were far from that and we couldn't go back, no matter how much I clicked my heels together.

"I gotcha, Doll." Steve's words vibrated against my ear in a soothing comfort, arms clamped tightly around my waist as I collapsed against him.

But amidst the tussle the Bucky masked assailant had snaked away from Sam and darted towards us with lightning feet. Steve fought hard to keep me from Bucky's advances, shielding me with the bulk of his body and using his quick reflexes to stay one step ahead. But a chilling sensation found its way around my waist and began to inch me farther and farther from the warm embrace of my husband.

I was pinned between two of the most important men in my life. Both furiously using all their strength to keep me from the other. My heart broke with each harsh tug, torn between the very fact that I wanted nothing more than to welcome Bucky with open arms but the hollow gaze that stared back shook me to my core.

This was not my Bucky. Our Bucky.

I tightened my looped grip around Steve's neck, clawing the taunt flesh of his shoulders to take a rigid stance.

"Bucky stop this! Listen to me!" Steve barked out with desperate reasoning against my ear, breath hot and shaky.

"You know us! Buck! NO!" Steve gritted through his perfect smile, and I could feel his muscles began to tremble from the resistance. I ignored the violent scream of my rib cage as Steve gripped me harder against his chest, refusing to budge.

He fought hard, fought without coward but this man disguised as Bucky Barnes was strong, too strong and I couldn't let Steve get hurt in the process.

Gulping past the lump in my throat I reluctantly accepted my fate, whispering gently against the softness of his cheek.

"I love you, Steve."

For a moment I swear I sensed his heart skip a beat, as if taking the time to fully grasp my sudden proclamation. In the seconds we still had together, I studied his face, absorbing every bit of him that I could.

"NO!"

I noticed the mirroring cloud of frustrated tears muddy his pale blue eyes in a flash of anger and panic as we were both stripped of any last shred of strength and I no longer felt the protect embrace of Steve around me.

"STEVE!" I bellowed a distraught plea to the universe, metallic arm cemented around my waist and securing me flush against a rock solid chest just as a crowd of HYDRA agents flooded the area.

"On your knees, Cap! Get on your knees!" Agent Rumlow barked, his men circling Natasha, Sam and Steve with guns pointed at them like rabid dogs.

Rumlow sneered another order and had the nerve to place the barrel of his gun against Steve's neck.

Wrong move.

I felt it.

The heat of rage snaking its way up my spine, consuming every cell and taking with it my rational thinking. I hadn't had an episode since New York, my trigger being the threat on Steve's life which had been reduced to zero until now. The forceful energy coursed through my veins with a new found strength, leaving me powerless to its whim. But before everything went red, Steve's gaze caught mine and I saw the realization grace that gorgeous face.

"Edie..no.."

But it was too late, it was happening.

"Not a scratch." I reminded through shallow breaths.

My body began to tremble, the asphalt beneath my feet began to shake and crack. With one sharp jerk the soldier at my back was thrown roughly into the pillar of the overpass, the echo of metal scratched against concrete. I locked my haloed gaze on the dark haired agent.

One free hand extended to surround Steve in a protective cloud of energy, while the other gave an effortless swipe in the air and sent a debilitating shock to Rumlow's body. He squirmed and thrashed, but his struggling attempts to escape were futile.

I could sense the rapid beating of his heart, adrenaline laced panic shooting through his system. Blinded with furious anger I was seconds away from crippling the man's life without even so much as a physical touch when a gunshot rang out.

Freezing everyone in their tracks.

My eyes fell to Steve with a seize of panic. But it wasn't until I realized that he was unharmed and slowly read the shock unraveling across his face that I felt an ache spread through my chest. Soon all my senses returned and the burning rage subsided with a focused clarity but there was still this pain in my chest, increasing by the second. Glancing down I was met with a crimson stain pooling against the material of my white blouse, a newly jagged hole decorating the center. I retracted my left hand, drawing a finger across the stain which painted my fingertips warm and sticky.

I saw past my hand to find his face, misty blue eyes mirroring my stunned stupor.

Was I shaking?

My lips moved but I was deaf.

Suddenly a bitter metallic taste coated my mouth and everything seemed to blur together in a slow motion. Soon I was no longer standing, kissed by the concrete once more. I watched through funneled vision as Steve cried out, struggling against my fading force field that held him in place. Rumlow's body thumped against the rubble, motionless but still clinging to life. Despite my depleating strength I channeled what energy I had to keep Steve protected. Those frustrated tears had returned, spilling over his cheeks with a tragic beauty.

A scuffle caught the corner of my eye, the man with the metal arm cornered one of the agents, silver gleaming in the hot sun as he grabbed the stumbling agent by the throat.

"No, wait-she was going to-please!.."

Soon I wasn't the only one of the ground, met with the lifeless stare of the man that discharged the shot into my chest.

"Edie! Wait!"

Steve's voice broke through my hazy consciousness but I was not surrounded by those warm arms as I hoped, instead a cool touch slipped around me and I was huddled against a strong chest and a masculine scent before everything went black.

-0-

"транспорт." _Transport._

A thick voice vibrated into my fading consciousness.

Light and Dark.

Voices and Silence.

Through hooded eyes I fought against the fatigue to peer upward, warm slivers of sunlight bathed my face through thick glass.

I was moving, swaying with the rough jarring of what I could assume as a truck. I craned to follow the husky Russian dialect that joined the air.

"задание выполнено. полученная цель" _Mission complete, Target obtained._

"Bucky.." My breath strained a whisper and soon after the seat next to me shifted. A calloused hand ghosted my temple with a familiar touch.

Comforting and tender.

I sought after it but my movements were a chore, leaded with fatigue I stumbled.

The gentle touch lingered, further dancing broad fingers across my forehead, brushing away the tangled waves. And just before the blackness drew me back in, the voice neared with a kiss against my cheek.

"отдых." _Rest._

-0-

**Steve's POV:**

"Again I ask you. What do you know about Agent Edith Andrews?" The agent's icy tone emphasized with a precise draw.

"_Rogers._" I corrected, mirroring the younger man's narrow gaze.

"I know she steals the blankets at night."

I took a small amount of numbed joy in the annoyed huff earned from across the table, so naturally I continued.

"I know she makes the best chocolate chip waffles I've ever had. And there's this little scar above her eyebrow, only noticeable in certain lighting, from a riding accident with her brother in the summer of '35."

"And one thing I know for sure is, she is no agent. She doesn't sneak around to steal someone else's secrets because some man behind a desk tells her to. No. My Edie is a soldier. A soldier who selflessly puts herself in danger to heal those in need." My tone flickered with intensity that promised consequences if the agent dared to proceed.

It was the sound of an irate buzzer that brought our pleasant interrogation to an end. The agent kept his rigid composure as he filed out of the room, leaving me with only my thoughts.

"We have to find her.." I advised to no one in particular, sorrow a permanent resident in my heart as I studied the reflective metallic of the table. Edie's fearful expression haunting me with each shallow breath.

A cold sweat plagued me as soon as I noticed the green fade from her eyes, signaling her change. It was the gun against my neck that did it. I had begun a silent prayer that she would keep her composure though the chances were slim. But there was a difference this time, a new wave of fierceness seemed to consume her. Edie's strength had increased and with it her temper, retaliating against the threat with a devastating power. This was the first episode since New York, she'd nearly collapsed the STARK tower that day. Renovations had been quite extensive afterwards. It was Dr. Erskine's words that came to mind the longer I pondered Edie's changes: good becomes great, bad becomes worse.

But my Edith was good, good to a fault. She just got a little fiesty if someone put a gun to my head, I couldn't really be cross with her about that. Then why couldn't I shake her father's words? Maybe it was because a small part of me really believed that if that shot hadn't been fired she would have leveled the entire block, including everything and everyone in her path.

She meant well, she always meant well. It just got away from her. Her only flaw wasn't really even a flaw, but it was that she loved me with every ounce of herself. Enough to cripple men and demolish cities.

No, my Edie was good, good to a fault.

My blood ran cold and a nauseating realization settled in as the stain pooled against her shirt. My throat was raw before I even knew I was screaming, every fiber of my being fighting to close the gap between us, to cradle her fading form against me and will it all away.

_"Steve…?"_

I'd read my name on her lips just before she collapsed, everything happening so fast I barely had time to register the shot let alone its target.

But I was powerless.

A familiar feeling that I hated to my core, that planted a seed of anger in the pit of my stomach which grew strong and fast. I could do nothing but watch her lay, the light dimming in those jade eyes all the while she kept channeling a force of energy to protect me. I had to watch as a stranger picked up my wife, snaked their arms around her and disappeared before my very eyes. Even as she slowly slipped away, with literally every last fiber of life Edie protected me.

"_Not a scratch." _

"Captain! Do you even hear me?" A familiar voice rang out, bringing me back to reality.

"I have to find her." I murmured my newly found mantra.

"Come'on Rogers stay with me. If we leave now we can find her, but you have to move! They'll be back any minute." Natasha stressed, expertly removing my cuffs in a fluid motion.

I couldn't remember the blur of events that followed but the next thing I knew I was running, Natasha and Agent Hill leading the way. An armored car awaited at the curb, soon after shuttling us through to the bowels of the city and Agent Hill instructed us down a murky corridor to a basement, where I was stunned by the scene before us.

Director Fury, laying in a crisp white hospital bed very much alive.

"You doubted her." I barely recognized my own voice as it seethed towards Natasha. The fact that Natasha undermined Edie's motivation to save the Director was enough to have my anger flaring and her disappearance only seemed to heighten it.

"Hindsight 20/20." She simply replied with a shrug, brushing off my rigid tone with understanding.

I was hurting, it was obvious. I had this hole in my chest to which there was no relief, no comfort. Because she had been stolen from me, my comfort, my home. A home to me was not an address or four walls, it was a warm smile and endless emerald eyes.

I struggled to keep up with their conversation, that depicted the dark secrets of SHIELD. I found it hard to focus on anything but the possible locations of Edie.

"Rogers?"

My blank gaze shifted absently towards the voice that called my name, Director Fury.

I was reminded that we were to complete a mission much bigger than what I was currently thinking about. One that would save the world, billions of people. But I could hardly think past the fact that the one person that was my entire world was out there, in danger. And not to mention the newly discovered existence of Bucky, very much alive but not how I would have expected our reunion.

"So what we need is the means. To end this we will need all the resources we can get and I hear, you know a guy. A certain Fairy Godmother with money to spare and a sarcastic attitude." Fury elaborated with a hint of humor in his raspy tone.

Life as we knew it was falling to pieces at our feet, the very institution Edie and I…and Bucky gave our lives for was revealed as a sham and this man was making jokes?

I bit back the anger locking my jaw, I knew exactly who Fury was talking about and to be honest I wouldn't mind seeing him, he would know what to do.

Tony would help me get my Edie back.

-0-

Back at the safe house as we waited for Tony's arrival I dared to open the door at the end of the hall, tasting the familiar bitterness of regret as soon as the hinges creaked. It was undisturbed, exactly how we left it.

How she left it.

Clothes sprawled across the armchair, ones that carried her scent and served as a reminder that she was no longer here.

My eyes fell across the rumpled sheets and comforter. Had we not layed there just this morning, tangled in a mess of each other?

A ghost of Edie's silhouette appeared, giggling a sick imitation of her laugh.

"_You holding up the wall, Soldier?"_

She moved to recline against the bed with a content sigh, smoothing the material of her dress before returning that haunting gaze back on me and I was breathless.

"_Come here, Teddybear_."

Hands outstretched and waiting.

Following the instructions of the ghost, so vividly conjured by my subconscious that I swore it was really Edie, I swallowed the tension clawed around my throat and took an unsteady step inside. Soon I was collapsed into the mattress and huddled against Edie like a lost child, clinging desperately into the crook of her neck.

"_Shhh..it's alright. You fought hard." _

She soothed a tender hand through my hair, a simple task that had me vulnerable beyond recognition.

"I was supposed to protect you." I choked on the regretful words that loomed over me like a dark, churning cloud. Another hand came to stroke my cheek, slow and hypnotic.

"_Smoothies."_

My brow furrowed at the randomness of her response, until those ghostly strawberry lips elaborated against the shell of my ear.

"_Your turn_."

I was reminded of our game, one created shortly after we met, so much had happened since then and I broke into a humourless laugh. The pain in my chest only seemed to grow, and I closed my eyes for a moment.

A moment too long.

When I shifted my attention back to drink in the memory of her face I was met only with the crisp material of our bed and a new wave of loneliness. But before I could be consumed by that darkness again a soft knock at the door sounded.

Quickly snapping up from the bed, I wiped the sadness from my cheeks and composed myself the best I could just as a familiar face peeked in.

"Hey, you going to leave me waiting out here all day?"

There was that sarcasm, and it was a surprising comfort. At least Tony wasn't treating me any differently, I was already getting tired of the sympathetic looks and tender reassurance.

"No, come in." I ushered him through the door, relieved to no longer be alone with my thoughts.

"I came as soon as I heard. Steve I'm so-"

I couldn't take another actionless apology, my hand flew up in protest.

"Tony, I don't need you to be sorry. I need you to help me get my girl back."

My hand fell with a soft thud against the sheets and I could read the beginnings of a smirk twitching under that dark mustache.

"Aye Aye, Captain. But first one question, did Fury really call me the Fairy Godmother?"

My laugh returned with a rumble, this time with the remnants of true humor.

Both coffee and strategies were flowing into the early hours of the morning as we all drew together to devise a plan. With Sitwell gone we would need another way passed the security measures and into the main system. The day had begun to weigh heavy on my muscles and my eyes dared to ease shut if I stayed stationary for too long but the distant reminder that I'd have to crawl into that bed alone fueled my consciousness. The question we were all struggling desperately to answer seemed to suffocate the air around us.

Where had they taken Edie?

-0-

**Bucky's POV:**

I watched her through sly glances, breaths ragged and shallow as she lay tucked against my side. But they were there, despite the bullet that laced her chest. Rolling my neck with a slow stretch I felt the muscles ache with recovery. I didn't even have time to react before my back met that concrete pillar, knocking the air from my lungs. She was strong, more than all of the HYDRA men combined and yet it only flared when the blond, Steve, was threatened. She protected him fiercely, with little regard to her own well-being. Without so much as a touch to Rumlow's body she had him in agony, reduced to a twitching fit on the ground. I had witnessed everything through blurred vision until I caught the slow movements of the officer, gun drawn.

My eyes fell to the shifting plates of my hand, metallic grip that ending his life in seconds. It was as if I did it on instinct, without even realizing.

She was in danger and I acted. It was second nature, like breathing.

The truck's brakes squealed to an easing halt and the back doors were roughly jarred open. Shrouded by the sudden blinding rays of sun two heavily armed men shuffled in and snatched the woman from her rested position beside me. I quickly darted from the armored van and after the agents, just in time to watch them fasten her to a gurney with enough straps to hold down a man twice her size.

"Target obtained and secured." One of them barked roughly over the radio wave.

I stood frozen in my tracks, unable to take my eyes off this dark haired woman that held an odd familiarity. The longer my gaze stayed fixated on her, detained so severely, the more vivid a memory became. One of blind agreement and pleading fear, to save someone.

To save me.

"Edie, her name is Edie." I breathed as soon as it hit me, stepping to close the gap between us I was met with a stiff hand to the chest.

"Whoa there big guy, boss wants to see you."

I craned past one of Pierce's countless minions to watch as Edie and I were indefinitely separated. She was wheeled out of sight and I was escorted back to my cage.

"You made quite the scene, killing one of my men and entertaining a wild chase through downtown. But you did your job, you collected the asset."

I recognized Pierce's voice filtering in from behind as I was settled into the stiff chair.

"Why her?" I cast glassy eyes towards the suited man that came into view, a bit of surprise flickering in his intense gaze.

He thought for a moment before answering, as if mulling over whether it was even worth the time.

"If you must know, this is the sure way to break Rogers. Go straight for his weakness, his pretty little wife. Convince him she is corrupt and he too will fall." Pierce growled with a precision as if he arrange this sort of thing everyday. And I assumed he did.

"What are you going to do to her?"

I couldn't stop the words that were already past my lips.

"You've got quite the agenda today. Let's remember who's in charge shall we? I will do what I see fit." Pierce hissed, drawing in with a malice expression.

"Prep him and fix that arm. They will no doubt come for her and we need it." He barked, throwing up a hand to the nearest mercenary as he made his way out of the room.

Just as I felt my seat recline and was roughly fed the rubber mouth guard, my head snapped in the direction of a high pitch sound echoing through the hall.

A woman's scream.


	5. A New Mission

**Thank you for the views! Enjoy the new addition, please feel free to review. Much appreciated xoxoxox**

* * *

**Edie's POV: HYDRA Base several days have passed.**

My body had become my enemy, a source of energy all its own that I was forced to battle. Enduring every new, more extreme measure they exercised to break me.

They'd rigged a device of wires and tight restraints that kept me in my place, taunting my defenses and quickly rerouting the shocks to my own system.

I was killing myself. Slowly.

Keeping their hands clean in the process.

I was sure my jaw would crack at any moment, as I swallowed the pain in shallow breaths. But this was nothing. Nothing compared to the last memory I held of Steve. Terror etched across his face so palpable that it left a hole in my stomach. A hole that someone had filled with cement. It was unbearable, disorienting. I felt lost in my own skin. I was missing a limb, a part of myself. Since I'd been brought to this world there'd never been more than a hallway between us.

"Teddybear."

The plea left my lips in a growl from the depths of my sanity, that I barely recognized. The heat returned to the column of my spine, stiffening my posture with each vertebrae.

I had no control.

Not like before, when it simply got away from me. No this was different, as if I was merely a ghost's conscious in a foreign body. It crept along, hot and pulsing through the cells in my body before I could take a full breath. Fighting seemed useless but I did, I tried.

**-0-**

"Any progress?" Pierce stepped into the small room, set behind the reflective glass of the command room.

"This machine simulates the intentions of the chip, once installed we should have control. But it needs to be tested to ensure she can't override it. In order for this to be successful, we need full control, Sir. And she's stronger than she looks." The operator informed, altering the levels of the various dials and levers that decorated the panel before them.

"She'll break. She just needs to be pushed." Pierce narrowed his eyes.

**-0-**

The metallic door opened from the corner, just enough for a slender man to slink through. Pierce's smirk unmistakable as he neared, circling me like a shark preying upon a wounded fish.

"You know I could help you, this could all be over. But of course for a price." He bared his pearly teeth, attempting to lure my guard down. Dripping with fake charm and expensive taste.

"What do you want?" The words snaked through clenched teeth, eyes like daggers as Pierce settled into full view. The restraints and interrogation tactics were awakening old demons. Blurring the lines of reality and scarred memories.

How had I allowed myself to land right where I was all those years ago? Bound and bleeding, at the mercy of HYDRA. Though his skin was not red and he did not wear a decorated uniform, Pierce was the reincarnation of the dreaded Johann Schmidt. Unearthing things I'd buried deep with each syllable he dared to speak.

"Your cooperation." Pierce purred, canines gleaming perfectly in the fluorescent lighting.

"Now, I'm going to tell you this because well, afterwards you aren't going to remember a thing. The perks of modern technology. You see, soon a chip will be implanted into your system. Giving us full control over your every movement, thought, memory. You name it. We will then plant evidence against you, once your Star Spangled Husband finds out that all along you've been nothing more than an agent contracted by HYDRA."

Nausea set in with a panicked sweat at the mention of Steve. Seeming to only grow the more Pierce continued to depict his menacing plan of attack. Smile never wavering as if describing a relaxing afternoon in the park rather than the reality of shattering the very foundation of my life.

"Once he finds that out. Well, now he'll be crushed. And with a sad, broken Captain America with no allies or friends he'll be vulnerable and that my dear is when we strike. End him once and for all."

I swallowed the rising bile as Pierce's hot breath caressed my cheek. My body failed me once more. Tears escaping the tight confines of my clamped eyelids.

"And you'll be the reason for his demise, his blood on your hands." He whispered the final nail in my coffin, watching with pleasure as the tears stained my cheeks.

But sorrow brought a friend.

Anger.

Pierce was not prepared for my abrupt retaliation. A rough head butt met the executive's nose with a sickening crack, pouring blood onto his crisp suit. I read the shock written across his weathered face with a satisfied grin as he stumbled back. Pierce sharply unleashed a powerful backhand, whipping my hair in a tangled wave across my face.

"You'll pay for that. Turn it up!" Pierce barked towards the metallic mirror, nursing his wounded pride.

"Farewell Mrs. Rogers."

Was the last thing I heard before I was overloaded with a current of energy that consumed my senses in a blackness.

**-0-**

And so it began, the slow corruption of Edie's mind. Though taking longer than anticipated, as they underestimated her strength and the will of a lover to return to her soulmate. Days melted into each other and soon it had been close to a week since Edie's abduction but it had finally taken hold.

"Well done, Agent Erskine."

Edie came to in a blurred sense of reality, movements seemed stilled and her vision was doubled but the pain never faltered. She willed herself to focus, pick an object and focus. The bleached fluorescent lighting causing her to squint.

"I mean, really out done yourself. Are you sure you weren't an actress before this?"

She chose to focus on the voice. Find its origin, where had she heard it before?

"You went above and beyond. A true HYDRA supporter. Even the wedding photos seem believable."

His face came into view in pieces of silvery golden hair and a cold, charming smile.

Alexander Pierce.

"Wh-" Edie's voice hitched with a raw scratch, feeling as though her throat was filled with sand she struggled to speak. It was then that she noticed the thick restraints binding her to the metal chair, looping around her body several times. Though the movement was minut to the man across the table, to Edie it took everything. A small jerk of her wrist against the strap caught Pierce's attention.

"Ah ah, It is just a precaution, to ensure you rest. There is much to accomplish yet and we need our best Agent."

He did it again, complimented and referenced her in a great feat that she knew nothing about. The Healer's confusion was obvious, groggy state making even the simplest of tasks an uphill battle.

"Oh, don't be modest. Is it recognition you want? Alright, let's take a walk down memory lane."

Pierce's movements flashed past Edie's fading consciousness as he took a seat in front of her, panning open the several folders fattened with aged papers and glossy photographs.

"You must remember this one, look at you. Top in your class. Such an overachiever."

Edie blinked into focus a black and white photograph of children, gathered and smiling. Though the still was a bit grainy from age, the uniforms could be seen. Crisp and decorated with an unmistakable symbol.

The tentacled skull of HYDRA.

Pierce's nimble finger pointed out a dark haired adolescent, front and center. Edie felt her stomach lurch and heart race with recognition. The little girl stood at attention, proud even as her slender arm extended in the salute of pure evil.

"No." Edie denied through swallowed razor blades.

"Don't deny your success, Agent. They actually gave you a name all those years ago. 1924, I believe that was when they implemented your division. They called you the Chameleons. Chosen were a handful of children. Uprooted, tought, trained and soon after dispersed among society to be the eyes and ears."

Edie took a shallow breath, unable to tear her gaze from the photographs depicting a life she didn't remember as she sat in a reality she didn't recognize. Memories were just out of reach, Edie struggled to think past the very moment in front of her. Though she could already infer the answer, a part of Edie wanted to hear it.

"Eyes..and ears..for who?"

Edie could sense that pearly smile span wide with his response but she dared not look up.

"For HYDRA of course."

Nausea plagued the Healer in a cool sweat, panic creeping its way into her mind.

_None of this was true, it couldn't be. She fought to keep people safe, to keep freedom in everyone's reach. She was no HYDRA Agent. Then why couldn't she recall anything but what was depicted before her? Why were these photographs breathing life to memories in her consciousness, filtering through in slow, terrifying waves. Could all this be true? Pierce held countless files that served as proof. And what did she have?_

"From the documentation, I concur that you were quite the star pupil even after the accident."

Edie's ears perked up, curiosity pulling her attention away from the various pictures that found their way out of the files with the executive's help.

"Accident?"

Pierce bit back his smile, Edie was puddy in his hands. Ready to be molded and shaped in anyway that best suited his agenda. The fabricated information supporting the cause and crippling Edie's confidence and lowering her defenses. Pierce began to read from an incident report dated October 16th, 1925. Dr. Abraham Erskine had actually known of Edie's existence all along and she was used as a form of blackmail to pressure the scientist into joining Johann Schmidt's plans.

The Doctor had been contracted to concocked an agent that would advance the Reich's followers immune systems. To strengthen their defenses so that Hitler could vaccinate those he saw as loyal members of a pure and invincible Germany, they would then weed out the "unworthy" by releasing a deadly disease to kill them off in mass quantities. The Doctor unwillingly participated, the threat on Edie's life imminent if he dared to defy Johann Schmidt or the Fuhrer.

So he created the unstable serum, hoping that it would have adverse reactions on whatever proud, strapping Nazi they volunteered to use as the guinea pig.

But the doctor was not prepared for the subject they chose.

Edie.

The further Pierce read, words filtering through Edie's subconscious it awakened a repressed memory and Edie sharply clamped her eyes shut as it ripped through her wounded mind.

_"Bring in the girl." Schmidt snapped his fingers, attention fixated on the confusion unraveling across Dr. Erskine's expression. Thin smirk widening when confusion faded to horror in the chocolate eyes of the scientist as Edie was trotted in, smiling brightly despite the harsh hold of the guard._

_"You don't mean to-"_

_Dr. Erskine's words halted as Edie erupted a giddy shriek of happiness at the sight of her father. Oblivious to the tears welling in the older man's gaze._

_"Daddy!" Her skirted uniform flapped as she started off in a sprint towards him but was quickly snapped back to the Nazi's side._

_"Edie!-please don't do is a child, barely even five years old. You can't-" Abraham begged for the safety of his only daughter to the stone-cold eyes of Johann Schmidt._

_"Oh doctor, if you did your job there should be nothing to fret about, yes? What better way to ensure the integrity of your work." And with another swift snap, the guards were strapping Edie down to the exam table._

_"Daddy! Stop it!" Edie squirmed violently, thrashing futility in the strong grip of the men._

_"Me, use me. I volunteer. Please, Herr Schmidt." Again the Doctor's pleas fell on deaf ears, halted by a gloved hand._

_"But, Doctor. Who would administer the injections?"_

_Schmidt's canines gleamed in the bleached light of the exam room, illuminating the madness in those blackened eyes._

"So it would appear your father did his job, the serum had outstanding effects. Doing exactly what it was intended to do, but at what cost? You were never the same afterwards, prone to rage and ill temper. Ever wonder why you were sent to America?"

Edie sat silently, unable to process the endless thread of information that was being blinded around her throat.

"Because of the accident, oh not the serum. But the fact that you, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, killed your mother."

Horror crept along Edie's ivory features, bile rising in her throat. Instinctively her gaze fell to her hands, envisioning the blood spilled across the cracks in her palms.

"After that your father wanted nothing to do with you, disgusted and grief stricken that his very daughter had killed the love of his life. A monster, a menace bore from his own hands. He signed off on your departure. Far, far away. But never out of the watchful eyes of HYDRA."

"Please-Stop! What..what do you want?" Edie sobbed, jaw tight with bitterness.

"You have a new assignment."

**-0-**

**Bucky's POV:**

I hadn't been able to sleep since my last mission. Moving restlessly in the sheets with the overwhelming headache of fatigue. Each time I dared to close my eyes, chasing that small chance of rest I was plagued with faces and voices. When sleep would finally grace me with its present, the dreams were enough to pull me back to reality in a puddle of sweat. And though the uncertainty was torture and confusion a thorn in my side, I couldn't get enough.

I wanted more.

More splintered fragments that depicted me as a human being, a person with a laugh and quick wit. Steve was often the lead in these memories that fell into place like forgotten puzzle pieces, he was different than his file though. Smaller, scrawny but the sincerity in those gray blue irises never faltered. The dreams that contained Steve were often of us as young children or trouble seeking teens. Edie usually made her appearance in war torn towns or in mud caked trenches, the smell of death clinging to us like a second skin.

She found me tonight, greeting me in the early hours of morning with a spanning smile and I gladly followed her lead into the nightmare.

_I made out her silhouette nestled against a tree, book in hand, letting the stout words of Ernest Hemingway ease her. At my back was the makings of a camp, uniform clad men and women scattering about with their own tasks in hand._

_"Really? Did you finish the other one already?" The words left my lips naturally, taunting her playfully._

_"Yes James. Some of us know how to read." Edie mirrored my teasing taunt, eyes fixated on the current page. I couldn't tear my attention away from her face, memorizing the smooth curve of her jaw and plump sweep of her mouth that twitched with a smirk._

_"Ouch. Did you eat today? You know you get cranky when you don't eat." I neared closer, gliding over the soft earth between us._

_"Yesss." A hiss escaped Edie with impatience._

_I decided to make myself comfortable, kneeling down to sprawl across the cool grass, hands locked behind my head. I could sense Edie's sly glances at my relaxed expression. I gave a dramatic sigh in hopes of pestering her._

_"What?" Green eyes rolling, my presence making it increasingly difficult to focus._

_"Did you do that thing?" I asked, eyes remaining closed._

_"What thing?"_

_"You knowww." My singing tone annoying Edie even more._

_"Oh you mean, ask your little girlfriend if she likes you?" Her tone a taunting coo._

_"What she say?"_

_"She's engaged, Buck." The reminder hummed through strawberry lips_

_"Yeah but what did she say?" I raised up to my elbows, internally admirning Edie's beauty in the dieing horizon._

_"You need a bath, you smell."_

_Edie avoided answering me once more. A delicate hand pulled away from her page to brush back the stringy locks that had fallen against my brow. I found myself relishing in the touch, the simplest of actions and yet it froze me. Comforting human contact that I had been starved of._

_"Nightingale. You're not answering me." I found my voice again, prying a little harder._

_"Well I'm kind of in the middle of something here."_

_Immaturity got the best of me and in a flash the heavy novel was in my hand and Edie was left to stare at the empty air of her lap._

_"You're not getting it back until you answer me." Dirty hands clamped around the cover._

_"Give it back." She demanded, legs pulling her from the earth she began a furious march in my direction._

_"Does she like me?" I asked again._

_"How old are you, Barnes? Really? Now hand it over." I could read the smirk on Edie's lips._

_"Nope."_

_I could tell she was close to smacking that very smug grin off my face._

_Soon we were locked in a standoff, inadvertently her advances inched me closer to the riverside. She underestimated my height as my arm was stretched to the sky, her limbs struggling to scale my form to retrieve the book. I was engulfed in the sweet scent of her, my laughter filling her ears as we stood tangled into each other. That was until I felt my feet coast back into a slick patch of mud, hurtling our bodies backward._

_We watched in panicking awe as the book was catapulted upward, the victim of immaturity, it landed with a splash in the running current. Scrambling forward, boots slipping all the way we made it just in time to watch the strong murky water swallow the maroon spine._

_"Edie I-" My breath hit the back of her neck._

_"Don't!" She seethed, tone like a dagger._

_"I think I can-"_

_"I think you've done enough." Nimble hands scrapped over her mud covered uniform, pushing passed me when I caught her arm. Revealing green eyes wide with rage but it was her buckling chin that gave her away. My heart sank at the sight of sadness clouding her eyes. A sadness I had created._

_"Get away from me! You ruined everything! I was happy before you came along, you stole everything from me!" Edie cursed my existence and it was in the reflection of the rippling water that I caught my reflection._

_Gone was my neat haircut and olive green uniform, the boyish innocence of my face had been replaced with a stern locked jaw and dark shadowed eyes. The clouded sun caught the gleam of my metallic arm and I finally pinpointed my restlessness._

_Guilt._

**-0-**

I was relieved when I was roused for training later that morning. I had hopes that the physical activity would serve as a distraction. But relief was replaced with disorienting confusion after the doors closed behind me and Rumlow stepped aside, revealing the very face that burned my soul.

"Edie."

Though my voice raised barely above a whisper she never looked up. Donning a gaunt expression towards the gritty concrete as Rumlow unclasped her cuffs. This woman was still a stranger to me. A stranger that stirred something every time those emerald eyes found me. I was still plagued with hazy fragments of memories that seemed just out of reach. But the more I was around her, the clearer the memories became. It was as Rumlow made his way to the door, pulling me into full view that Edie finally looked at me. A sickening nausea bloomed in the pit of my stomach when Edie's eyes shifted to meet me, because I recognized it in an instant. It was as if I was looking into a mirror.

Hollow and lost.

What did they do to you? They had drained the very life from her.

Gone was the sparkle and warmth, replaced with a cold and heart crippling detachment.

"Have fun you two, try not kill each other." The click of the lock echoed into the silent air as we squared in a standoff.

I noticed the trembling in Edie's hands, the calculated roll of her neck as if something was taking over. As if she was being consumed.

Before I could register her movements the gap between us was eliminated and my back met the wall with a breathtaking thud. I struggled to keep up with Edie's advances, deflecting her fists and refusing to retaliate.

Our bodies were never more than a few inches apart and I gauged the difference in her. She was fast and relentless. Cold and calculated. There was a distant swirl of white at the edges of those haunting jade pools and I recognized it from that day on the bridge. It had happened just as the agent placed the gun against Steve's neck, threatening his life. Steve was her trigger and yet he wasn't here.

"Edie, where's Steve?" My voice slipped upward as she straddled my waist. Past her ridged fist, cocked back to deliver another blow to my battered cheek.

For only a second something shifted in Edie's face at the mention of his name. A softened bit of humanity surfaced. Blackened waves tilted with a narrowed expression and I could practically see the gears churning. Though I had been trained, manufactured to be nothing more than a weapon, I was slowly starting to realize that was not my whole story. This woman, with her slowly dimming green eyes and familiar face, knew my story.

She knew me. Steve knew me.

So as I endured every punch, every quick kick and crippling electrical shock I concluded to embarked on my own mission. But I was quickly brought back to reality as Edie unleashed a piercing screech and I was left to watch in horror as her whole body spasmed in pain. Her eyes erupted into a fury of white and an electrical current twitched from those delicate hands. Her rigid posture soon relaxed and her gaze shifted back to meet me.

Hollow and lost.

It was then that something hit me, cool and nauseating. She wasn't being consumed. Edie was being controlled.

A crimson river trickled from her nose just before she collapsed against me and I swore I heard my name on her lips.

"Buck."

The jarring of the door echoed and heavy heels of boots abruptly made themselves known. I didn't have much time. I held her close, breathing in the familiar scent as I found her ear.

"Fight it, Edie. Fight it. We're going to get you out of here."

And before I could protest she was ripped from my grasp. Leaving me once more. But gone was that daunting emptiness, replaced instead with a new found purpose.

To return Edie to Steve.

* * *

Ooooo things are getting interesting! How will Buck execute this new mission of his? And at what cost? Is Edie's mind control reversable? How is Steve holding up after a full week without his Edie? Stay tuned! And please let me know how I'm doing.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	6. Recklessly Loyal

Here's the overdue addition, sorry for the long wait but I decided to go in a different direction and to do some editing. Hope you enjoy! Next chapter will be coming this week too after some polishing.

Shout out to **Babyi.G **for being such a faithful reviewer. I look forward to your input every time I update! Xoxoxox

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**Bucky's POV:**

I'd become Edie's personal punching bag. A form of measurement to which her strength was charted. But I justified every punch and crippling electrical shock with the fact that I got to see her.

Every day.

They allowed us to share meals and training sessions together but not without Rumlow or some other faceless minion watching from behind the two-way mirror. It would seem they were so focused on Edie's success that I had become a second thought. Low on Pierce's agenda and it gave my conscious the time it needed to fully develop the broken bits of memories I struggled to understand before.

I would remember things. About Edie, about Steve and even about myself. I could see my mother's face, the soft sound of her voice singing me to sleep when I had a nightmare. I could remember the streets of my neighborhood, the ones Steve and I walked every day. All the fights I had to drag him out of, while he spit blood and panted vows that 'this wasn't over', to which usually would end with me laying out some obnoxious brute or scaring off a group of spineless bullies. But there was so much laughter and deep concern for one other rooted in each moment that made all the rescuing worth it.

Then came the memories of Edie. A swarm of blood stained scenes but underneath there was so much more. Chipper giggles from behind a book cover, bourbon filled conversations of home and what we missed the most. Edie kept me in line, watched my back and saved my life on several occasions. I wouldn't be alive if not for her.

I could remember the good…and the not so good. Scenes of torture and experiments flooded my brain, unauthorized surgeries that left me less and less of myself. The scars on my body helped piece together my past, it was the one just above my heart that shook me the most. It came in the form of a ghosting ache and left in the softest warmth trailing against my lips. I could never fully repay Edith for what she did that day. Stripped me of every ounce of pain without out another thought. Put my safety above her own like second nature. Exactly as she did that day on the bridge with Steve.

Loyalty fueled Edie's every action. Her first instinct was to save, to heal and often when a certain nerve was struck that loyalty flared with a rage and she was unstoppable. For example, German bullets to the chest or a gun placed to the back of a particular blonde's neck.

It unleashed this raw energy within her and Edie sought her target with a vengeance. I wasn't sure what Pierce's angle was exactly but I had a feeling it had to do with that energy, intentionally drawing it out for his own purpose. That purpose is what I needed to find out.

We'd fallen into this grotesque form of a routine, Edie and I. We'd exchange silent looks across the table over sorry excuses for food, I'd speak softly to avoid the eager listener behind the glass. Most of these conversations were one sided, involving me doing the talking and Edie fighting the slow haze that had began to eat away at her memory. Each day it seemed more and more of that vibrant personality I remembered was fading and being replaced with a hollow shell. Whatever they were doing in that room where they took her after our sessions was stealing Edie away. Corrupting her for their agenda. But something wasn't going as planned, it wasn't hard to overhear the hissing whispers and hushed curses.

_'It needs to be adjusted. She's fighting it.'_

'_We're going to have to replace it, if you don't figure this out now. We don't have much time. You need to step it up a notch.' _

My heart clenched each time I would notice the slow dim of her eyes, the warmth draining from her face. It kept me up at night, running through all the possible routes of escape. I was hoping to choose the perfect moment but one morning on the way to training it would appear the moment chose me instead.

Traveling down the familiar corridor I was halted by the sound of harsh voices and grunts of a struggle. With well-trained stealth I slinked towards the noise, concealing myself behind the corner I watched the armor clad agents pull out a tranquilizer.

"Pierce wants this done _now_. They finally configured the right device and are ready to implement the final phase. Make sure to load her up with this stuff, don't need her waking up on the table. Come'on."

A feminine gasp rang out against the metallic walls, and Edie's limp body dropped against the grated floor with a spray of raven hair. Making sure to keep my distance, I watched as they hauled her further down the corridor towards that all too familiar procedure room. I fought the panic that rose in my throat, willing myself to focus on devising a plan.

Awhile later the same agents filed out of the room and stalked in the opposite direction to my relief. Without a sound I crept down the hall and closed the door with a quick motion, scanning the room for any signs of a threat. I swallowed the tightness forming in my throat, the familiar room waking the cruel memories of what I endured here. Shaking off the taunting thoughts I took a step further.

I found Edie's unconscious form strapped to a metal gurney, the faint hum of the monitor tracked her vitals, displaying a gentle pulse against the screen. In slow strides I closed the gap between us, staring down at her still body I noticed a similar mouth guard shoved between her strawberry lips. Suddenly my human hand twitched, a piece of my former self urging to touch her. With a sharp breath in I reached out and caressed Edie's small hand.

"Nightingale." My voice echoed fondly into the still air.

The lack of prying eyes and Edie's peaceful form gave me a moment to truly look at her. Brushing back tangled black locks, I couldn't help but notice the rapid pulse of veins under her ivory skin as her body fought to repair itself.

"It's my turn to save you." I promised, moving to unlatch the restraints when a heavy thumping of footsteps rounded outside the hall. Ducking against the door I couldn't tear my eyes away from Edie, realizing how out place she looked here. Like a flower growing in the concrete.

Much like she did all those years ago, under the sadistic thumb of Dr. Zola. Who willingly carried out Johann Schmidt's plans and some of his own. Everyday was hell, grueling and mind numbing. But the doctor held a special interest in Edith, pushing her to the very limit with no ounce of humanity.

Snapping my attention back to reality I listened as the steps faded into the distance, turning down another hall. With a quick sigh of relief I took the opportunity to lock the door and resumed my position by the table.

"Nightingale." I hummed again but Edie's expression never faltered.

"Wake up, we've got to get you out of here." Gripping her shoulders I shook lightly.

The small remnants of a smile could be found forming on my lips as I watched those jade eyes ease open. Squinting against the harsh fluorescent lights, Edie could only muster a groan before her gaze shifted to meet me. A glimmer of recognition surfaced with Edie's full consciousness. But with the sudden panic that seized her expression it would seem her last real memory of me was the day on the bridge when I stole her from Steve. Edie's fatigued body attempted to spring into action but struggled against the tightly bound restraints. A muffled scream gritted against the mouth guard in fear.

"Hey..shh, you're okay. I'm not going to hurt you. It's me, Bucky. It's really me." My words fought to soothe her alarmed state.

Slowly I raised my hands to remove the mouth guard from Edie's clamped jaw, hoping to signal I meant her no harm. Edie watched me with narrow eyes, following my movements that unfasten the straps. Wiggling free she sat up abruptly, and I could see the room beginning to spin in a daze across Edie's face. Swiftly my arms wrapped around her just before she slumped from the exam table. A shiver crept up Edie's spine as my metallic hand was held firmly against her lower back.

"What book did you toss in the river?" Edie found her voice, a croaking whisper.

My gaze met hers with flickering confusion and before I could stop it a chuckle shook my chest.

She was testing me.

"The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway."

The words barely escaped my lips before Edie had her arms snaked around my neck, seeming to finally take a full breath. I felt the hesitation in me at her sudden shower of affection, deprived of loving human contact for so long. I coughed a laugh in attempts to halt the welling tears, and naturally reciprocated with a rib squeezing hug.

"And it was an accident, you were the one that jumped me and it fell in the river." I corrected in a smirk.

"It is you!" Edie gasped, leaning back to take in his face with wide eyes.

"Me." I breathed her conclusion, welcoming the warmth of her hands across my stubbled cheeks and through my thick waves.

"Where are we? Where's Steve?...Bucky I can't remember anything, its like-like"

"Like a fog." I exhaled, wondering if I was too late.

Had they already begun the process? I heard the guards discussing the 'finally phase'. But Edie was back, the real Edie. Though it seemed at a cost.

"We are going to get you out of here, I promise." I voiced my determination.

"You mean us." Edie corrected, gauging me with suspicion.

"I'm afraid not, Doll." I advised gravely, knowing someone would have to stay back and take the brunt of the punishment.

"Now I have a plan, but you're going to have to trust me. And whatever happens, you just keep going. Don't stop until you are out of this place. Edie, I need you to promise me. Promise me you won't stop until you are far..far away from here." I attempted to halt her growing protest with a stern voice.

"No-no I won't leave you…Bucky please-I can get us both out of here. I can't leave you again. Please." Edie's words hitched through the pooling tears and I felt my cool exterior cracking. Faltering the longer those doe eyes pleaded with me and that soft touch found my face again.

"We can fight this, we can find Steve."

Steve.

The reality of my best friend resurfaced and I recalled the true task at hand. From the look of the rings on Edie's fingers I concluded the that little punk had finally done something smart for once.

He found Edie.

Someone that would protect him as fiercely as I had, Steve had found his haven and I was responsible for safeguarding her.

"Nightingale, I need you to promise me." I held Edie's chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. The emerald green flickered with sorrow and pierced my heart. I was forced to let her go all over again.

"I promise."

The cool graze of my metal hand ghosted her cheek to wipe away the falling tears.

The plan was simple, a possible long shot but it was the only way to get Edie out safely and under the radar of security. She may not have had my stature but with her thick dark hair and cloaked in my jacket it would be hard to decipher us through the grainy feed of surveillance.

As Edie buckled the last strap of my jacket snuggly across her torso I lifted the black mask towards her face.

"Wait." She seized my hands and raised to her tiptoes. Before I could register what was happening Edie had her arms snaked around my neck one last time.

"Come home, James." She whispered against the shell of my ear, a soft kiss finding my cheek. Instinctively my arms embraced Edie, holding her tightly.

Just a little longer.

My heart pleaded. Nuzzling into the soft curls of Edie's hair, I inhaled her warm scent with a ragged breath.

But swiftly detached myself and secured the mask across the lower half of her face before I could talk myself out of it. A frown pulled at my mouth when I realized I could no longer see the curve of Edie's smile.

"Ready?"

She answered with a silent nod.

Opening the door slowly I assessed the perimeter for any signs of movement, waving Edie forward she began her trek down the corridors. Clad in only a t-shirt, pants and boots I was close on her heels. My goal was to stay out of sight of the moving cameras that scanned the halls and take out any threats that came close to Edie.

But it was early into our trek I was reminded of Edie's tendency to be a little head strong, verging on reckless at times. I noticed it when she turned back, already defying one of the rules I gave her, the electrical current twitching from her fingertips.

Reserving my speech I physically motioned Edie to keep moving, but of course she didn't. Instead she held my gaze and with a casual flick of her wrist sparks erupted from the cameras above.

"Damn it, Edie! I told you to stick to the plan." I seethed in annoyance. I knew we were now working against the clock more than ever. The lack of camera feed would surely send a red flag to security.

"I've been told I'm trouble. Now let's go _home_." Edie insisted, wrangling down the leather mask from her jaw.

I had another snarky remark ready to whip at her but the distant rattle of the grated floor stole our attention.

"Move!"

I clambered forward, ushering Edie with quick steps down a maze of hallways. The coast was clear until the we rounded the last corner, freedom just beyond the door which was guarded by two patrolling agents. I urged Edie to stay shielded behind my body as we stalled against the corner. It was as I was surveying the hall and calculating the possible tactics that she ignored me once again. Pulling herself into full view of the armored men with no sign of fear.

God, Steve has his hands full. Was she always this defiant?

"Where do you think you're going?" They eyed Edie's small stature.

With one last glance back, Edie snuck me a sly wink before channeling her power. The surge of electricity intensified from her fingers and with a quick motion Edie's hands flew up. The power bolted from her and straight into man's nervous system rendering him paralyzed in an instant. Edie then moved onto the next, soon the bodies littered the floor and she was staring back at me with the beginnings of a smirk.

"Told you I had a plan."

I bit back my own annoyed grin and fell in beside her.

"You're a pain in my ass, you know that."

I watched Edie's charcoal waves bounce as she throw her head back with a hearty laugh.

"You weren't saying that when I was saving that ass from Nazis. Now you know you've missed me." She snipped playfully and I couldn't help this surge of emotion that came over me, one I barely recognized. Because despite the whole HYDRA army breathing down our neck, being with Edie made me feel happy.

"Alright, enough about my ass. Let's get you out of here." I shook my head and ushered her towards the door with haste. But it was a clipping motion that caught my eye from the right. The black lense of a camera stared back at my.

Our silent witness.

Soon the hum of boot heels could be heard, drawing in closer with each passing second. Despite the coded lock I pried the thick metal door open just enough for us to slip through. I urged Edie onto the glass plated catwalk that stretched across to the parking garage. I had opened my mouth to give Edie directions through the mirroring metallic door and through the maze of garage levels when I heard voices on the other side of the automated door.

They had trapped us in on both sides.

My mind had begun to race, sifting through all the scenarios in a panic. Peering down at the bustling traffic below I realized we were too far up, Edie couldn't survive the fall despite her healing abilities. But like a beautifully rusted chariot, a large truck could be seen barreling down the busy street; piled high with garbage bags to cushion her fall.

Edie took a sharp breath in at the echoing sound of cracking glass that splintered beneath my metal fist. The wind whipped through the newly gaped escape plan I had made.

"Edie you have to go." I turned back to her, the footsteps echoed louder but I could read her hesitation.

"Come with me." Edie begged.

"Edie, no. Now go." I barked, instantly regretting the harshness of my tone.

I reached out, gripping Edie tightly against my chest, I swear she could feel the rapid beating of my heart. With the stampede of agents closing on either side of those doors, time was not on our side. At any moment the doors could jarr open and we would be surrounded. Still holding Edie snuggly against me, I willed myself to let go.

"Good-bye, Gorgeous." My voice came out husky against her ear.

With a quick calculation I shoved Edie out through the shattered window just as the mechanical doors were seized open. Tearing my eyes away from Edie's falling form I readied myself for the retaliating punishment. But what I hadn't prepared for was the sharp tug at my wrist.

Soon I was met with nothing but blue sky and dancing white clouds. As I fell I watched the agents flood the catwalk, like angry black ants. In a blur I was welcomed to the outside world, careening through the air until my back thumped against a pile of bloated bags. Snaking through the sticky plastic, a soft hand found mine.

"You're a pain in my ass." I wheezed into the fading void of darkness that began to funnel my consciousness.

"You said that already."

My coughing laugh died against the roar of traffic before I gave into the darkness.

**-0- Edie's POV: Later that day**

I focused on Bucky, every ounce of my energy went towards keeping him out of harm's way. I clung to him like a man lost at sea, the waves being the churning currents of my mind. The fog rolled over my conscious, inhibiting even the simplest of memories into a smear of gray haze and he seemed to be the only familiar thing.

After just nearly escaping the hands of HYDRA, we needed a safe haven. A place to finally breath and I could think of only one place at the moment.

Home.

Easing Bucky up the flight of stairs to Steve and my apartment felt surreal. How had so much changed in such a short amount of time? Had I not dreamed of this reunion? Yes, of course but under very different circumstances. One that involved tear filled joy and late night reminiscing. Not paranoid movements and the revival of HYDRA.

I hadn't quite prepared myself for when I walk into the broken shell of our home. Staggering through the splintered doorway, with Buck around my shoulders it hit me like a cold splash of reality.

Steve's favorite mug still sat in the sink from that morning, the blue one with the chipped handle that he refused to part with. Glass crunched under our feet and into the area rug we had picked out together one sunday. One of his leather jackets was still slumped across the armchair, my pile of books littered the floor in a forgotten heap.

It felt wrong being here without Steve. Foreign and wrong.

"Edie.." Bucky called out in an exhausted whisper, swaying his weight with a wobble. The fall had taken a lot out of him and the long walk had left him weary. As delicate and quick as possible I moved Buck over to the couch, patting off the bits of drywall and glass before easing him down onto the cushions.

How many naps and movie nights had Steve and I spent on that very couch?

I missed him, like one misses being home after a long trip and being here was suffocating. But the man that blinked up at me through hooded and tired eyes needed this. He reached for me, disoriented and drunk with fatigue I could read words forming on his lips.

"We're okay. Shhh..get some sleep. Don't worry I've got first watch. You're safe, James." My lips found his brow just as the last streaks of daylight shifted over the city. And for the first time, I spent the night in our apartment without Steve.

Soon after Bucky fell asleep I mapped out the ideal spot for surveillance. It was when I took a step into the shadows that I heard a crunch. Crouching down I flipped the wooden frame and felt the air escape my lungs.

Our wedding photo.

Through tear blotched eyes I removed the glossy picture from its spider cracked cage, unable to take my gaze off of Steve. Smile bright and eyes sparkling. With a shaky hand I traced his profile, as handsome as the day I met him. He had me hanging on every word since the moment we met and nothing had changed between us. And yet so much had changed around us.

Reminding myself of the task at hand, I kept the memory tight in my hand and shrugged on Steve's leather jacket. Relishing in the husky scent of my husband as I took first watch.

**-0-**

I'm not really sure what I registered first, the clammer of boots or the barking of Bucky's shouts. But everything seemed to happen in a blur of blinding light and black uniforms.

I hadn't slept that soundly in days, the comforting scent of Steve lulling me into a comatose state after Buck took the next watch. I was sure they had tracked us down, the long hands of HYDRA impossible to escape. I was ready for Pierce or even Rumlow to walk through that door at any moment but they didn't. Instead a flood of agents entered but none of whom I recognized as followers of Pierce. They were rough but not callous, insistent but not demanding. They did however have us both up and out into the street in a flash, thrashing and struggling.

I had reared back to strike one of the agents when the crowd shifted around me and I caught sight of a familiar blond. My heart fluttered with excitement. There he stood, unharmed and waiting for the traffic light. The sun broke through the clouds and painted him in a breathtaking halo.

I couldn't stop myself as his name left my lips like a chanted prayer.

"Steve!"

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Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think xoxox


	7. Mine

**Here you are folks! Newest addition, more to follow. Let me know how I'm doing! xoxoxox Thanks for all the followings, reveiws and favoriting :) **

**P.S: Mature content in this chapter, beware. **

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**Steve's POV:** **Earlier same day **

6 days 3 hours and 54 minutes.

That's how long it'd been since my heart was ripped from my chest. Since the world around me had gone from bright and shiny to dark and empty again. I'd begun to see her in the passing faces. I'd hear a laugh and swear it was hers. At night my body would seek a warmth that was no longer there, a release that could not be satisfied.

I'd become a shell of who I used to be, prone to angry outbursts and snappy remarks. I'd been taking Edie for granted, the luxury of seeing her everyday, touching her everyday. I'd began sleeping on the couch, unable to sleep alone in that big bed that carried her scent. I'd forgotten what it was like to sleep alone, the empty space beside me acting as a reminder of my failure to protect her.

With little contribution from me considering my state, Tony was making headway on accessing SHIELD, well I guess really HYDRAs Intel. When Sitwell was literally snatched from our grasp we lost our pass through the security measures. I wasn't the only one relying on Tony's advanced technology and intelligence either. Fury and the few of his fellow agents deemed "loyal" had taken roost in the safe house as well. But I rarely saw them, to my relief. Because I was finding it increasingly hard to bite my tongue each time Fury reminded us of "the bigger picture" as he liked to call it. Which I understand his point, the mission was to infiltrate HYDRA and halt the launch of the carriers.

But that was _their _mission.

Mine involved finding Edie and Bucky.

So to avoid any type of insubordination I had begun to spend most of my time alone or with Tony and Dr. Banner in the lower level. Which seemed to be an exact replica of the STARK tower with its labs and countless expensive machines, some of Tony's suits, and even a controlled room for Dr. Banner in case he ever had…an episode. Natasha, with the help of JARVIS, had taken the lead on surveillance. Scanning the streets for any sign of Edie. So here we all were, hoarded in the safe house with our own task at hand.

But then again house just didn't seem to capture the magnitude of Tony's real estate. He'd bought a whole block, lined with shops and apartment buildings, converted the entire inside to a literal block long living space. So to the outside world this was nothing more than a Chinese restaurant, a dry cleaners, a convenience store and several apartment buildings. He even went as far as to hire people to work in these places. Where you'd have to go in, order a specific coded dish or ask for "ticket number 36, please" in order to enter from the street.

We were concealed, we were safe and I was suffocating.

Hoping for a small bit of distraction I broke from the group and slipped into the bathroom for a shower. The burning water beaded against the tension in my shoulders and I inhaled the steam with a deep breath. Allowing myself to relax a moment, I rolled out the stiffness in my neck and slicked a hand through my hair. But sure enough my mind began to wander, memories of Edie just beyond the fogged glass. The thoughts of the last time I'd made love to my wife took over my conscious and soon the stiffness relocated to my lower half.

**About a week earlier:**

"What was that all about?" I asked with reference to Edie's snarky remark towards Kate just before we filed into our apartment.

"What? I was only trying to set her up, she seems lonely." Lean shoulders shrugged, avoiding my gaze through blacked waves.

"Eddiie.." I sang softly, eyeing her with suspicion.

"What? I was being nice."

I noticed the way she'd began to study her nails absentmindedly. A smirk was twitching on my lips before I could stop it. Swiftly I closed the gap between us and with ease lifted Edie's petite form onto the counter.

"Now you wanna try telling me the truth, Doll?" I craned to catch her eye, knowing her too well.

"Well..maybe I got a little jealous." Edie mumbled to the material of her pencil skirt.

"What's that? I didn't quite hear you." I toyed, enjoying myself.

"Jealous! Happy? I didn't like the way she looked at you. And what lady parades around with her panties on display for any fella to see? She always seems to be doing laundry when you're around." Her words seethed.

I felt my chest begin to rumble at the sight of her adorable expression twisted with annoyance. But I hadn't quite perfected my poker face with Edie yet.

"Are you laughing at me?"

Uh oh, I was caught.

"No, not at all." I choked to push down the chuckle.

"Steven Rogers!"

I cringed a smirk at the formal use of my name, feeling a delicate hand swat at my arm.

"What? Oh come'on I find it endearing, Doll. I've never had a girl fight over me." I cooed, nursing her wounded pride.

"Don't act all innocent, Mister. Are you forgetting the nice gentleman at the ball game?" Edie raised her manicured eyebrows with conviction.

"No, that was completely different. He was all over you." I quickly rebuked, hands up in defense.

"He was trying to get me to buy a souvenir that was all." Edie insisted but I knew better.

My blood boiled at even the thought of that day. I'd caught him in the very act, though Edie argued otherwise but I quickly had the man up against the wall as soon as I witnessed his lustful stares at Edie's curvy backside. Daring to place a hand on the small of her back before I had him by the collar.

"Well, nonetheless I don't like when someone tries to touch what's mine." I whispered, drawing the bridge of my nose across the softness of her cheek.

"And Gorgeous, you're _all_ mine."

I could hear the breath catch in her throat when I drew back to reveal the dark hunger in my eyes. My palms moved up those thighs, pushing the thin material of her skirt until it gathered tightly around her full hips.

"Mine." I murmured, searing kisses along both sides of her neck as if marking my territory.

"Steve.."

Edie whimpered already breathless as my stiffened member grazed her bare thigh, making itself known.

"Captain." I corrected with authority, lightly coiling a hand around her delicate throat. Something had awakened within and I needed to express it, starving and greedy the beast sought its prey.

But this was new territory for the us, so I quickly checked her expression for any signs of rejection. But I was met with mirroring lustful hunger, signaling Edie was ready to play. Silently she answered, wrapping those lean legs around my waist to draw me closer. Instantly I could feel her wet excitement grinding against my erection. Stifling a groan I watched through hooded eyes as Edie crane upward, pouty lips begging for a kiss. A playful smirk twitched as I read the need blushing across her ivory complexion, withering beneath me with the simplest touch. I lowered my mouth to meet hers at a painfully slow rate, enjoying teasing my little vixen.

"Captainn.." Edie whined with frustration, snaking her hands around my neck with greed.

"Ah-ah, keep those hands to yourself."

I caught Edie's wrists, placing them above her head as she laid back against the countertop.

"Good girl." I purred, trailing kisses along her collar, hands soon finding the buttons of her blouse.

The sudden tearing of material snapped Edie's attention and there was no disguising my devilish grin as I hovered over the valley of her now bare breasts.

"Mine." I growled again.

Listening intently to Edie's soft cry as my words vibrated against the pert nipple between my lips, tongue swirling methodically. She arched into my touch, begging for more. White knuckling the counter Edie's breath quickened when I continued my trek down her body, taking my time until I reached my destination between her creamy thighs. Gripping under her knees, I pulled Edie closer to the edge and caught a glimpse of the soaked material of her panties. The mere sight pulled a groan from my throat.

"Mmmh, look at you. So wet." I trailed a long finger against the dampness, watching Edie's legs quiver with pleasure at the feather like touch. Whimpering breathlessly she bite at her ruby lip.

"I need to hear you say it, baby. Who do you belong to?" I crouched down, hooking a finger to pull the thin undergarment to the side. Licking my lips like a hungry lion at the sight of her glistening sex.

"You. All yours, Captain Rogers." She panted the golden words.

_Such a good girl _I grinned to myself before diving my tongue between her wet slit.

"Oh God!" Edie gasped at the sudden contact.

Beginning with strong strokes of my tongue the length of her, I quickly found Edie's weak spot and gave it a gentle swipe.

"You taste so sweet." I murmured against her, peering up from the heaven between Edie's legs. I watched the pleasure wash over her; pouty lips twitching, hips rocking slightly to meet my strokes.

She was close, I could tell. Her flushed cheeks and open mouth painted with desire, eyes fluttering as Edie chased her orgasm. Breaking the rule she clawed a hand through my hair, causing me to smirk against her core as I felt her nudging me closer.

"You wanna cum already, naughty girl?" My words hummed against her clit, jolting her forward.

"Yes…_please_!" Urgency filling Edie's voice.

Naturally I obliged, with heady enthusiasm.

She gasped as my finger slipped into her tight core, giving her sensitive nub a gentle suckle. Back arching, Edie stretched her legs wider. Her walls fluttered around my broad digit that pumped against her most sensitive spot. The rhythm soon drove Edie over the edge, pleasure exploding with a flood of warmth that coated my lips.

_Delicious_.

I could feel my own arousal growing painful against the confines of my jeans. I desperately needed to feel her, so with a quick motion I was on my feet and working to unhinged my own buttons. It was then that I noticed Edie's lust drunk gaze focused on me, with remnants of her orgasm continuing to linger she slowly eased up to meet me.

"May I?" She asked permission through sweet exhaustion, lacing her hands up my chest to begin the work on my shirt.

Her husky tone only seemed to fuel the need inside me. I studied that gorgeous face that hovered inches from mine, jade eyes brimming with desire as they raked over my body. I could only answer with a nod before pressing a hot kiss against her lips, tongue commanding entrance. With my hands knotted in her charcoal waves, our lips moved urgently against one another. Before I knew it, Edie wasn't the only one naked. My trousers and underwear were pooled at my ankles and Edie's nimble hands danced across his shoulders to push off the remainder of my shirt.

"Someone's eager." I grinned against her mouth.

"I _need_ you."

Was all she could muster, manicured nails ghosting over the muscles of my backside, tugging me in the direction we both sought.

The longing in her voice hit me straight in the groin, stirring my primal instincts. Without another thought I clawed Edie's panties from her waist and was pressed firmly against her entrance. Though old habits die hard the gentlemen in my eyes surfaced, asking permission. A groan erupted from my throat as Edie simply answered with a calculated arch of her hips, delving me into her velvety walls.

"Steve..!" She whined, my pelvis bucking forward to fill her fully.

"Shit, Doll. You're so tight." I grunted against her lips, stealing her breath with each powerful thrust.

God the scene before me was sinfully intoxicating, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.

Reclined back against the cool marble of the counter, Edie spread her legs wider with the help of my hands as I continued to dip myself in and out.

Taking what's mine with greed.

A mixture of pain and pleasure flooded my senses as those sexy black pumps she still wore dug into the muscles of my shoulders.

"Such a good girl, taking every inch."

I whispered heady praises with each deep thrust I delivered, drawing my panting goddess closer to another orgasm.

Edie was coming unhinged beneath me, pleasure blurring her vision as I refused to halt my relentless pumping.

"Steve…I'm gonna.."

There they were again, those golden words flowing from honey sweet lips.

I could see her release mounting, my own building tightly in my abdomen and I knew what Edie needed. Exactly what she needed. I could read her body like a road map. Silently I snaked a hand down between her bouncing thighs.

"Cum for me, Gorgeous." I coaxed, swiping a broad thumb against her sensitive nub.

"Yes! Oh, _please…_don't stop, baby." Her breasts heaving.

"That's it. Look at me, Doll."

My thrusts became more urgent, Edie's velvety hold on me fluttered with each swirling movement against her clit. She followed my gentle command, shifting those emerald greens towards me and I too was done for.

Her core spasmed tightly, pulling me over the edge with her. My gritted moan echoed with her labored breaths and I gently collapsed against her.

We were one.

Were.

**-0-**

"_Edie..!" _

Every muscle in my body seemed to tighten all at once and a wave of emotions accompanied my release. But it was far from anything like that day.

It was bitter and tainted.

Gone was the warm body to collapse into, to lose myself in. Gone was the delicate hand through my hair and sweet kiss against my temple as she always did. Instead I was welcomed back to earth with a suffocating cloud of steam and I dared myself to peek open my tightly clamped eyes, dropping my hand back to my side with sickened guilt. Soon after washing away the last bit of sudsy regret down the drain I stepped through the crystaled shower door.

When panic began to set in, bringing along its friend Anger. I needed out, the walls were closing in and at any moment I swore I'd put my fist through the mirror, unable to bear the reflection. Throwing on the first articles of clothing I saw, I silently made a bolt for the door and was ready to step out for a walk when Natasha halted me.

"Steve..?"

I turned back and there it was, that sympathetic look again but this time there was a hint of something else.

Apprehension? Dread?

"Um, there's something you need to see."

And soon I was filled with those same emotions, knots forming in my stomach the further Nat led me down to the lower level. But my feet jarred to a stop as soon as I entered, the content on the expansive monitor hard to miss. A video played, grainy and a bit muted but her face was unmistakable.

Edie.

With none other than Johann Schmidt himself, the two matching in uniform and pride.

"Nat, I told you _no_."

I recognized Tony's voice hiss from the corner but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It seemed to be some sort of propaganda film, something I hadn't seen since I'd went into the ice. As if taking a page from Hitler's book, it promoted HYDRA in such a casual way as if offering a vacuum cleaner to a tired housewife. As if it was a necessity that people didn't realize they needed. It was captivating, hypnotic even. My stomach swirled with nausea the further I watched. The sight of Edie in that stark and neatly decorated enemy uniform. Teaching a full classroom of HYDRA youth, who all mirrored her pearly and eager smile.

"He needed to know. What do you expect? To shelter him?" Natasha bit back, igniting a feud between the two as if I wasn't but a few feet away.

"Where did you get this?"

The room just barely registered my sudden voice, unnervingly calm despite the situation. They both took a moment, silently working out who would answer.

"Tony?"

And it was as he looked at me, shifting that usually well manicured face to meet my gaze that I noticed it.

I wasn't the only one suffering.

Tony had gone from his chipper, snarky and pristine self to…well me.

Disheveled and gaunt, a sense of lost detachment swarmed in his dark eyes, emphasized by the hollow shadows beneath. He looked like he hadn't slept and that…Ozzy Osbourne? shirt looked like it had seen better days. With a shallow sigh Tony unhinged himself from the hovered position against the keyboard and faced me completely.

"I was able to finally infiltrate the firewall and once in I bypassed countless dinky little blockers they had. Which I was honestly rather surprised, with it being this top secret and all, you'd think they'd invest in a little more high tech security system. I mean a monke-"

"**Tony**." I jarred his rambling to a stop, sensing a nervousness suddenly radiating from his usually cool exterior.

"Right, sorry. After hacking into HYDRA's system I immediately started to look for the Hellicarrier blueprints and launch codes when….when I stumbled onto this." Tony motioned towards the looping video behind him, gravely casting a look towards the table.

"And these." Natasha added, sliding forward printed report logs and glossy photographs for my attention.

As if I wasn't already barely glued together, barely making it through with wounded senses. There were the photos. Edie's familiar face carrying out HYDRA tasks. Her handwriting and signature depicting a life that went against the very values I knew she upheld today.

"No, this isn't true. This isn't Edie." I instantly rejected all of it, every bit. It just felt wrong, the very fibers in my being were setting off red flags that this was false.

Not my Edie, not the woman who saved me from myself. Who put herself in harm's way every chance it arised to protect me, to protect all of us.

Not my wife.

But I read the room, and found that my opinion was not in the majority.

"But you think otherwise?" I felt the heat rising in my stomach, a sweat creeping up my neck the longer I eyed the pair.

"I'm just trying to find answers. That's my job, Steve. I have to explore every possible avenue and..I have to admit before this, Edie's file was a bit vague." Natasha spoke up, scanning over the mountain of documents that lay sprawled out before us but not daring to meet my eye.

"Vague?" I repeated dumbfounded, unable to fulling wrap my head around her statement.

"What do we know about Edie? I mean of her past. Her SHIELD file shows her enlistment documents and some medical records. But that's it and then this surfaces. These reports tell of her involvement, her hand in carrying out HYDRA's plans under a division called the Chameleons. After what happened on the bridge, it just... " Natasha pealed through the stack of papers in front of her, oblivious to my rising anger at the sound of her doubting tone.

"Choose your next words wisely, Romanoff. We are friends but that is my wife you are talking about. Don't forget she's saved both of our asses on multiple occasions. Risked her very life for Tony. She took a bullet to the chest that day, a HYDRA bullet I may add. Have you forgotten that?"

To say I was fuming would be a sore understandment, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They'd turned on her, after everything that Edie had done. I dared not look at Tony, who'd grown uncharacteristically quiet, because I knew I'd surely lose the already loose grip I had on my composure. Natasha read a new emotion gleaming in my eyes as my temper flared. Rage, accompanied by the bitterness ringing in my words. With a deep breath through her nose she reflected my guarded stare.

"I'm thinking that attack on the bridge was an extraction mission by HYDRA. They sent the Winter Soldier to retrieve the Chameleon, it got out of hand but I believe...Edith Rogers is a double agent for HYDRA."

Natasha's words erupted my rage like a spark to dynamite, her stony expression faltered with panic as a loud blow vibrated through the air. I hadn't realize my action until the steel table crumpled like a plastic bag under the weight of my fist. The muscles in my back constricted with each quicken breath, shoulders hunched with tension.

"**Take it back**." I growled in a tone alien to even my ears, moving to close the gap between us. It was then that Tony found his voice, just in time to intervene between Natasha and I.

"Cap! Steve look at me."

His tone was calm and hitched a bit with concentration as he chartered each word with much consideration.

"Now you know what Edie means to this team, what she's sacrificed hasn't been forgotten. But I'm a facts man, cold hard evidence is what I plant my flag in and, you have to admit there's a hell of a lot of evidence here. Is it possible that Edie was originally contracted with HYDRA before going into that ice and...maybe it was love that turned her. Joining the team, meeting you. And after the attack on New York you know as well as I do our lives were never the same. We were broadcasted everywhere, all over the world and maybe it was that publicity that unearthed this documentation, shed light on her past that even Edie thought was buried deep and it fell into the wrong person's hands. Pierce. Who is now using this to his advantage. I think we just need to be very careful here, we don't know who we can trust-"

"And by who, you mean Edie. We can't trust Edie." I corrected with venom dripping with each syllable. It would seem that SHIELD wasn't the only thing that was being compromised this week. Friendship and trust had begun to crumble with it.

"I'm just saying we have to go at this with a cautiousness. Limit the amount of people that know, to just us until we can sort everything out. We get her back, we handle this quietly, just us." Tony coaxed, an assurance solidifying his words. And just as I had come around to the very shaking situation, Natasha voiced her opinion once more and the anger returned with a vengeance.

"And Fury."

Tony and I both snapped our head to face her in disbelief at even the mention of telling the Director.

"Absolutely not. Are you nuts, Red?" Stark rebuked, dark eyes narrow with confusion.

"He's my boss. _Our _boss and I have to report this, he obviously is unaware or else he may have never recruited Edie. It's my duty as a SHIELD-"

"Steve where are you going?" Tony called after me as I moved toward the stairs, halting Natasha's self righteous speech quick in its tracks.

"The hell out of here! I can't listen to another minute of this. So quick you are to find your loyalty to SHIELD, when it's been nothing but a puppet for HYDRA. The very evil _my family_ risked their lives for: Edie, Bucky, the Howling Commandos. But as soon as "evidence" arises against one of them, loyalty is a foreign word to you. Don't worry I'll figure this out on my own."

Their voices died against my back as I bolted up the stairs and towards the door. I chanted a mental prayer that the fresh air would clear my head. Separate me from the dead ends and constant failure that seemed to be my shadow lately.

But I quickly learned the city gave me no solace. Edie haunted me around every corner, memories blooming with each stride. It was as if I was on autopilot, consumed in a haze I just kept walking. Though I denied every accusation, every shred of "evidence" they said they had I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. Combing through every situation and memory Edie and I shared now with a small budding sense of suspicion.

Had all those stories been lies? Had those countless warm smiles and sweet words of comfort been fake? Surely the shaky tears that stained her cheeks at the sight of Zola where real...But because of the hell he'd put her through, not because she was worried he'd out her...right?

It wasn't until a stranger's voice called out, gripping my sleeve with a sharp tug that I registered my surroundings.

"Whoa, there young fella!"

I was brought back to reality by an elderly gentleman, halting my unintentional walk into ongoing traffic. I'd been oblivious to the angry red light that signaled us to wait.

It was then that I recognized the building. My subconscious had directed me back to our apartment with a surging pull that seemed to grow the longer I idled. I needed to go there, I needed to surround myself with the comfort only Edie could give me.

I needed to go home.

"You alright, son? You're looking a little green around the gills." The man adjusted his glasses against the bridge of his nose, looking me over and I was suddenly aware of my disheveled appearance.

Aware but not embarrassed.

This man, who was closer to my age more than anyone around, seemed to read me.

"You lost?" He asked, hinting to more than my sense of direction.

I could only nod before a commotion snatched my attention. Across the street a glossy SUV revved impatiently and a group of armored men were struggling to move something. Or rather someone. And it was just as the sun broke through the smear of gray clouds that I caught sight of that someone's face.

_Her_ face, for real this time.

Black hair wild as Edie thrashed from the broad men's grip. Her name formed on my lips but Edie beat me to the punch and the familiar sound of her voice seemed to breath the very life back into me.

"Steve!"

Soon my legs were moving on their own, sprinting through the busy traffic towards them. It was then that I noticed a second struggling figure, metal arm bound tightly behind his back.

Buck?

They were both being hauled from the stairwell and further down the sidewalk, towards the open mouth of the idling car. It wasn't until I neared that a new pulse of anger ripped through me. These weren't HYDRA agents as I'd assumed. They were Fury's loyal followers, men I'd just seen a few hours earlier.

_Natasha_, I concluded with betrayal.

My heart clenched and that tiny seed of doubt vanished as quick as it appeared. Suddenly everything else fell away. The accusations, filed evidence and looming suspicion that followed evaporated the moment those emerald eyes found me.

"Edie!" I pushed through the thick crowd along the sidewalk, jarring faster as they both were harshly pushed into the awaiting car.

"Not this time." I vowed, catching the door handle just as the engine roared to life and made a break into traffic. Soon I was met with the shocked faces inside as the door was ripped from its very hinges.

A familiar hand snuck from between the armed men when Edie urgently reached for me before the driver floored it. A tinge of dejavu struck me as I began sprinting after the vehicle on foot, makeshift shield in hand.

A faint grin graced my lips when suddenly one of the men was catapulted from the gaping door with an electrical shock and out popped Edie's beautiful face, ready to make a jump for it with Bucky's help.

They were working together now? Something wasn't right.

Oh but how many times had I dreamed of that face? Edie had such an effect on me, my heart was beating again with her help. But soon my day dreaming was dampened when Edie erupted a sudden warning

"Steve lookout!"

Edie extended a calculated hand to kill the second black SUV's engine that appeared behind me through the sea of traffic. I lunged out of the way and was kissed by the harsh concrete below as the vehicle tumbled in a flash of mangled metal. But the gritty teeth of the road paled in comparison to the pain I felt when I rebounded to find no trace of them.

Gone. Slipped through my fingers. Again.

It wasn't until I began dusting myself off, degrading my failed actions thoroughly that I noticed the crumpled ball teetering near the gutter. Swooping it up quickly I recognized the photo.

Our wedding day.

Edie had escaped and went back to the place she knew. A safe space: our home.

Had Bucky followed and tried to extract her back but was caught by Fury's men? Was Natasha right, were the two working for HYDRA? How had Edie gotten out unharmed? Questions swarmed my mind like angry hornets but one thing I knew for sure was Edie had been taken from me for the last time.

_Mine_.

**-0- Safe House, same day**

In a flash Steve sprinted back through the city, a new found fuel lighting his steps. Making it back to the house in record time, a mere jog for the Super Soldier. Bursting through the doors without hesitation Steve questioned the first face he saw.

"Where is she?" He demanded towards the agent, who stood idly in the kitchen

"Captain, you can't go in there. Captain!" The guard insisted, his hand a meager restraint against the Super Soldier's massive chest.

"They are beginning a de-briefing, you can't just-" The guard's voice caught in his throat, pinned under the Captain's iron grip his back thudded against the wall.

"**Where. Is. My. Wife****?**" Rogers gritted, his adrenaline consuming him and his usual calm demeanor.

"Third door on the left." The Agent gasped, body dropping limply as Steve raced down the hall. Everyone turned at the sound of the door jarring open.

"Rogers! We are-" Director Fury's words mere mufflers when Steve's eyes locked on Edie then to the cuffs binding her tightly to the table.

"Steve." She whispered breathless with tears.

Steve quickly crossed the room, no one daring to step into his path, and found a place kneeled before Edie. The soldier hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until the tender touch of Edie's forehead rolled over his. As much as she wanted to, the iron cuffs prohibited Edie from lacing her arms around her husband, burying herself in that comforting embrace and never letting go. And as much as those restraints infuriated him to his very core Steve wasn't about to let that dampen their reunion.

It had been too long. Far too long.

Swiftly wrapping Edie's petite form in a bear hug, Steve silently vowed to never let go. Tears muddied his sapphire eyes as he inhaled Edie's familiar scent, relishing in simply holding her. Something he'd dreamed of since she'd been taken. The whole world fell away and it was just them. Their mouths found each other in a dance of overdue kisses. Whispering urgent 'I missed you's and 'I love you' s against the warmth of the others lips.

"Captain, we need resume our debriefing." Fury spoke up from the corner of the room.

"You mean interrogation." Steve corrected with a combing hand through Edie's hair, never tearing his gaze from her.

"Where's Bucky? Please don't hurt him. He saved me, he's the reason I'm here." Edie begged with a pleading glance around the room.

"But Edie he..he took that day. You were his target." Tony reminded with caution.

"That wasn't him, he didn't mean to do it." Edie insisted.

"He didn't mean to track you down? To corner you and get you shot? Get the team caught?" Fury questioned, watching the unease ripple across Edie's expression.

"I..well I mean-it wasn't his idea. You have to believe me. HYDRA is behind this." Edie could sense the suspicion rising in the room's atmosphere, clouding everyone's view of her.

"Steve, you believe me. Don't you?"

Edie shifted her attention back to the man by her side, a flicker of hesitation could be seem behind those baby blues. But before Steve could answer Fury stirred the pot.

"From what we've heard, you are HYDRA."

Edie felt sting of the accusation across her pride.

"Me? What are you talking about? Steve are you hearing this? Don't you..don't you remember what they did to me?..to Buck?" Edie's voice dropped in volume for only Steve's ears.

And it hit Steve like a hard slap to the face. Everything that they'd been through together. Every sleepless night he'd held her, coaxing Edie down after a war torn nightmare woke her in a pool of sweat. And the grievous day she'd finally had the nerve to find out what happened to her family after she'd gone into the ice. They'd visited the cemetery, Steve beside her every step of the way. Strong arms helping her up from the damp ground where she collapsed in overwhelming grief. Was he to believe that all those emotions were lies? An act?

"Well these tell otherwise, tell a whole lot of things none of us knew about. Now do you care to share where you've been for the last week or would you like to take a stroll down memory lane?"

Edie's body jumped with a startle as the heavy file thumped against the table, punctuating Fury's words with a fan of photographs and documents foreign to the Healer. It was in that moment that Steve remembered the day Fury revealed project Insight. The idea of 'getting ahead of the threat'. Any shred of evidence that could be viewed as a hazard would be bulldozed no matter what the circumstance or who it may be in the name of protection.

"Those are lies. Are we to suddenly to believe everything that SHIELD has hidden? For God's sake, HYDRA was living around us this entire time. They tried to kill Edie when we were held at the Triskelion building. If all this was true why would they try to kill their own agent?"

"Because she refused to give you up. They gave her the option: Turn on you or be branded a traitor. She chose the latter." Agent Hill made herself known, a rainbow of colors reflecting as the CD she added to the pile caught the light.

Steve cast a furrowed brow towards Edie's profile, studying the confusion clouding her eyes. He could practically see the gears churning and the question formed before he could stop it.

"Doll, is that true? Did they try to get you to turn on me?"

Edie fought to remember that day, finding it difficult to think passed the very moment in front of her. The events were there but seemed just out of grasp. Met with nothing but a wall of haze.

"I..I can't remember."

Her lacking supply of answers only seemed to heighten the rooms' doubt, Steve being the only one that refused to give up.

"Convenient." Nat murmured before a quick jab from Tony met her ribs.

"Very well. Agent Rogers, care to explain your involvement in HYDRA? Does the group the Chameleons ring a bell? Records show you were their most elite member. No?" Fury pelted Edie with accusations, elaborating with aggression when Edie's confusion only seemed to grow. Flipping open the heavy envelope, Fury display an array of papers.

"See this number here. That number, is your known record of confirmed kills for HYDRA. And this is your total of people you helped round up, people who didn't share the same radical ideals as the group. Their blood is on your hands, Agent. How convenient that you can't remember one bit of it."

"That's enough." Steve growled a warning, shielding Edie's face in the crook of his neck as he felt her begin to shake from what he had assumed was fear.

"Now tell me how it got there! Admit your involvement and tell us why you've come back! What is your mission, Agent?!"

"I said enough!"

Soon the Super Soldier was toe to toe with Fury, their gaze an intense battle of raw anger. Both Natasha and Tony attempted to intervene, squirming between the towering men's squared stances as they spit venom. But all the while no one was keeping an eye on Edie.

From miles away, sitting comfortably in his office a silver haired puppet master activated the chip. Malicious smirk twitching as he watched the clouds rolling in over the spanning city view.

_Isolate target. _

A thought not her own entered Edie's mind, bringing with it a slow and sickening pulse of energy. With little control, Edie's gaze locked on Steve. Through blurred tears she studied the perfect curve of his jaw, the strong slope of his neck and striation of muscles flexing in those massive arms, all the while gauging the soldier's every weak spot.

_Engage mission._

Everyone's attention was focused on keeping Cap and the Director from tearing each other apart, that was until a dark whisper broke from Edie's lips.

"Steve."

The room seemed to freeze, a nerve piercing quiet blanketing them all. Naturally everyone halted and shifted towards Edie.

She stood now, cuffless and white knuckling the metallic tabletop. Her petite form heaved with ragged breaths and a sudden tension filled her shoulders, but black waves hid the planes of her face. Unbeknownst to the team Edie was fighting an internal battle, struggling to ward off the burning surge of energy and dark comanning thoughts that spread through her body and began to consume her senses. A sharp jerk bolted through her body and Steve instinctively took a step forward at the sound of her gritted hiss of pain. But the Captain soon felt the air escape his lungs at the slow reveal of Edie's face. The beaming glow of her whitened eyes locked on him like a hunter on its prey. With the last shred of consciousness Edie had left, she rumbled a warning growl through strawberry lips.

"_**Run**_."


	8. Wolf in sheep's clothing

Latest update! Sorry for the wait, I rewrote this one so many times trying to get it right!

Thanks for the support! Enjoy xoxooxxxoxoxo!

* * *

**Tony's POV:**

Today was a day for firsts.

And not any of the good kind, not the new experiences that left you wide eyed and hungry for more. Well that was partially correct. I was wide eyed that's for sure, we all were. But it was adrenaline that surged through our veins and pooled a cold sweat over us, not excitement.

For the first time since she'd been presented to us by Fury himself fear accompanied Edie's presence. Following that menacing snarl of a warning that passed her usually smiling lips, I'd barely had time to process it before the room erupted like a box of Chinese fireworks.

Unstable and wrecking chaos in all directions.

Before anyone could even blink together a small shred of a plan, instinct kicked in for everyone. Everyone except Steve.

Nat, Fury and Hill had their guns drawn, and aimed to eliminate any threat. Even I had engaged a defense, metallic palm gleaming a golden hue to the room.

But the Captain just stood there. Those massive muscles of his not flexed for a fight, nor was his towering height committed into a stance of attack. Instead the super soldier was reduced to a fear stricken civilian, gaping in a quicksand of shock that left him vulnerable.

He was exposed and Edie, no this wasn't Edie. This was the Chameleon that had been in those files, and she read Steve's every weakness. His emotional stunted actions left him exposed and that was her gain.

I noticed the current of energy playing off the Chameleon's fingers, dark blue in contrast with the haloing white of her eyes that had yet to leave Steve's confused expression. His back was against the door, only a few feet and a table stood between the two. She could easy overpower us all, with a casual flick of her wrist. Her ability to access and stun our very nervous systems had the group at a disadvantage. I remembered the futile struggle I made against it during the attack on New York, when she forced me onto the that was her being nice.

So what do you do when a twitching, kill hungry and possessed version of a good friend is trying to kill your other friend who also happens to be her husband..?

Like I told you it was a day of firsts. You improvise or at least that's the notion I got which lead to pissing off the Chameleon. But hey, at least she didn't get her hands on Steve, at least not yet.

Another thing about today was timing. Firsts and timing.

We needed to get Steve out and as far away as possible. I mulled over the possibilities in my head, each way it could go right or wrong. Creating a diversion was our best option, but getting everyone in on the plan would be the hard it would seem the room unanimously convened on the same decision as soon as Edie extended a stiffened handed.

"No!"

You don't realize how loud gunfire is until it's up close and personal. Steve's booming voice drowned in that raining hail of hot metal like a whisper in a tornado. One shot clipped the chameleon's shoulder, the other her hip. I dove to Steve's cover, urging him out the door with rough pushes though he attempted to stay rooted to the spot.

"Rogers go now! Betty Boop's not playing here, go!"

Romanoff and Fury's blockade wasn't going to hold her off for long but I could read the hesitation flicker across the Captain's usually stoic expression. He was torn in a multitude of directions no one could count.

Wife. Friend

Duty. Honor

Right. Wrong

"She'll be alright, now go!"

My palm found the door knob with a stumble before I was pushing him through the arch. I had just secured the latch when a familiar sensation crept the length of my vertebrae. But this time it burned, licked up my spine and staked its flag in my nerves with an angry scortch. My control was depleting by the second but I had just enough left to turn around and witness the destruction. The wind compressed from my lungs in a wheezed gasp, she'd leveled every able body that stood in the way. My eyes found Nat's twitching form, crumpled in the corner and left with nothing but a glazed expression. A similar fate had taken over Fury, the stone cold Director had been broken down to rubble.

I took what I thought were my last breaths in shallow inhales, the blinding artificial lights above had me squinting. And like a dark haired eclipse, the Chameleon stepped over me. I was suddenly so tired. Exhaustion caressed my cheek in long, slow swipes.

"Now Olive Oil…don't be so-so hard on Popeye." I choked with a dying smirk.

The last wisps of consciousness began to escape me when a kiss of a familiar scent engulfed me.

"Shhhh…Anthony. It's okay, let go. I've got you."

Edie, it was Edie!

The kindness had returned to her voice against my ear, not an ounce of strife could be found. I stared up at her through blotched vision, a swarm of overwhelming emotions tightening my chest. Comfort followed Edie's touch against my jaw, a comfort I hadn't experience since my mother. I reached for her, pawing at the dangling waves that framed her assuring smile. I was like a drunken toddler as the burning began to recede, my movements shaky and uncoordinated.

But just as soon as the small speck of hope had floated in, it was wafted out. Edie jerked violently and her face fell into her knees with a deafening screech. Minutes passed like hours. I fought against the fatigue that plagued my body, which left me useless until my nerves regained full consciousness. But before I could intervene, the Chameleon had resurfaced and was jarring open the door after her prey.

It was Natasha's touch that skated over my pulse shortly after, the aftershocks still vivid on our bodies. Natasha could barely stand, sweat breaking across her auburn brow. I could barely breath myself, air just out of grasp. But we were alive. If Edie hadn't resurfaced just in time, we'd be having a very different conversation.

"Steve..gotta…"

Why did my mouth feel like I'd been baking in the Mojave for a week? I swatted at Nat's hands with what little strength I had. Knowing I wasn't the one she should be worried about. A certain Captain was the one with the target on his back, we were just mere obstacles on the course. Sure enough the sound of a familiar yelp snatched our attention and had the red head stumbling out of the door, gun a permanent fixture in her glove.

Me on the other hand was a different story. Like a colt on new legs I shook and felt the world tilt as I tried to stand. Lower half regaining strength at a painfully slow rate, looking more like cooked noodles than working limbs.

Cursing my feeble attempts the entire way I followed the shouts and obvious sounds of a tussle. I finally made it through the threshold just in time to watch them hauling her off. Barnes a mirroring image at her side. Fury's men were always there, willing and ever ready to clean up the mess with rough hands and a glock. But by the look in those emerald eyes, staring back with such defeat, it was safe to assume Edie had returned once more.

Tears brimming over with a fever as she kept her gaze locked onto Steve's collapsed form until they yanked her sharply around the corner.

"Get these men to the med bay, Agent Hill too. And someone call Bruce!"

I propped myself against the nearest wall, trying to ignore the clammy sweat breaking out across my skin.

"She..came back.." I choked under Natasha's strained barking.

"She tried to kill us."

I jerked back with a startle at Fury's sudden appearance, weary body relying heavily on the archway for support. By the looks of the blood sputtering from the corner of his mouth, Edie had done a number on him.

"I want..this whole place..on lock down. Now, Stark."

Fury cast those blackened orbs on me and I didn't have the energy to refute. I told you it was a day for firsts.

The scenery around me slid slowly to the ground as my legs depleted what strength they had and I suddenly joined Steve on the cool tile. He was still sprawled in the middle of the hall, seeming to have taken the brunt of it all. I couldn't bring myself to stare too long at him, just enough to ensure he was breathing. Slow but deep, healthy breaths. Satisfied with Cap's status I then craned my neck towards the ceiling.

"Hey, JARVIS. Initiate the Renee protocol."

My back relaxed against the wall, head lulling with lax effort.

"Right away, sir." The AI replied with his usual polite tone. Soon a symphony of locks and alarm beeps could be heard securing the entire house.

"Thanks, buddy."

Oh, I needed sleep. A cheeseburger, possibly a milkshake but definitely some Z's. Not necessarily in that order.

"Renee?" Natasha seemed to ask for the both of them. No doubt expecting some complex acronym or scientific explanation.

I wheezed a laugh despite the pain in my ribs at the look of confusion on both Agents faces.

"What? You guys never had a crazy ex before?"

-0-

Naturally I ignored the good doctor's advice to take it easy and rest up. I had plenty of sleep, practically a whole…3 hours, I think. Instead I took my deliciously greasy fast food meal into the surveillance room and began to play. I started at the beginning, from the moment Edie stepped into the safe house. Hoping to notice any little change, compare her demeanor from before she was taken to the events that followed after. I would also need to comb over these newly leaked HYDRA files. Something just didn't sit well with me and I was looking to prove Fury wrong. Edie was not trying to kill us. But someone was.

"JARVIS, pull up the file of Edith Rogers. Everything we got."

"Yes sir, the information is quite extensive. Shall I categorize it into a chronological timeline?"

"Do your thing, big guy."

I swiveled a little too energetically in my chair, awakening the strain in my muscles.

Gingerly reaching across the table, I nursed my pain away with the thick sweetness of my strawberry milkshake.

"Syncing complete." JARVIS beamed from above.

"Alright, show me what we're working with."

On command the room was illuminated with a blue hologram of what seemed like an endless timeline of Edie's life.

The overwhelming wealth of information was punctuated by the sad sound of the final slurp of my shake. With a heavy sigh, I suddenly wished I had a second set of eyes.

**-0-**

**Bucky's POV**:

They'd been moving me to another room when it all went down. Steve's body caught my attention first, standing one minute and on the floor in the next. A familiar stature clawed from an adjacent doorway and it was as if we were back at the compound. I could tell just through her stance that it had taken control. What that was, I was still trying to figure out.

"EDIE!"

I recognized Steve's voice, laced with strained desperation before it cut off into an eerie silence. She stood over him with a tilted head, right hand trembling with great strength as she sought to drain the life from him. Before I could think of a plan, my feet were moving on their own. Ignoring the rebelling shouts of the guards behind me. Steve's strained gasp for life filled the corridor and strummed something in me. Swiftly I barred myself between them, catching Edie's wrist before she could unleash another shock to Steve's convulsing form. Jarring her roughly against the adjacent wall with a regretful thud. I had to remind myself this wasn't Edie.

"Nightingale, it's me! Fight it! Fight it, come on' baby." I had caged Edie between my body and the wall.

She was animalistic and unhinged, trying like hell to lunge closer to Steve. Fighting me every step of the way, she successfully snaked from my grasp. I ducked from a right hook, catching her delicate wrists once more I was able to swivel Edie's thrashing body around to face the wall. My chest pressed flush with her back I had her in a pinned position. The strength of my metallic hand secured both wrists tightly behind her.

"Fight it! come on', Doll. I know you're in there!"

Teeth gritted against her ear, desperation in my voice as I tried to coax her down. I felt her whole body jerk in reaction, grunting furiously like a raged bull.

"That's it, Edie..come back. I gotcha." I murmured through a weak smirk when her body became lax, falling into me with exhaustion. I dared not remove the weight of my body against her though, keeping her trapped until I knew I could truly trust her.

"Buck.."

Was all Edie could get out before dejuv struck and a gun was drawn on both of redhead, I recognized from my recon mission, staggered through the doorway and joined us in the hall.

"Get down!" She gave it all her energy to bark out the command. I could tell by the shaky hold on her firearm and the flushed tone of her face.

"Hey it's alright-" I tried to explain, but this agent wasn't going to hear any of it.

"On your knees! Now!"

I complied with unease when my hands dropped from Edie's wrists, and found a new place in the air in front of me. I followed the Agent's fumbling motion for me to lower to the floor, but Edie had another agenda.

"I said on your-get away from him!"

I turned to find Edie crouched over Steve's motionless body. Her manicured hands skated across his chest in a frantic. Watching the heavy flutter of his baby blues behind long, fatigued lashes. He needed medical attention and fast. He needed Edie. But I knew from the strict attitude of the agent currently holding us at gunpoint that wasn't going to happen.

"Teddybear?...say something! What-what happened to him?"

I saw the quick, confused glance the redhead shot me. As if looking for an explanation that I didn't have. I could only return my leaded gaze to the floor and listen again to the lethargic demands of the Agent. Edie struggled against the fresh set of men ready to take her into custody.

"Natasha! Please!"

I couldn't bear the sound of her pleading, it always roused me to action. Struck something in me and had me at her side in seconds. But I knew we were already on thin ice with these people, so I tried to get her to comply.

"Edie, just listen to them. It's going to-"

But she wasn't having it, only seemed to encourage her to beg harder.

"I'll do whatever you want. Please, Natasha. Just let me heal him. He's critical."

"Because of you! If it's up to me, you'll never touch him again." Natasha's words matched her hair. Fiesty and burning with rage.

Edie's confusion heighten but naturally she swallowed the threat on her own life to save Steve. Putting the well being of those she loved above her own was as natural to Edie as breathing. She couldn't shake it.

"Nat..please. I agree with you and I will go quietly. Just let me, this last time."

I could read the reluctance spanning the young agent's stoic features. It was Steve who broke her down with a ragged, shaky inhale that signaled his depleting health.

"You have 2 minute."

A tearfilled smile broke across Edie's face and swiftly she scrambled from the guard's grasp. Finding her place beside Steve, Edie began working. Steady hands spanned his torso, her own eyes fluttered shut as she concentrated.

I shifted on my knees just a few feet away as Edie brought my best friend back from the brink of death, breathing life back into his lungs with a delicate quivering smile returned to Edie's face as Steve regained a small fragment of strength and reached for her. Blue eyes revealing themselves from behind heavy lids.

"Doll?"

Edie caught the broad hand that clumsily pawed at the air between them.

"Hey, handsome."

I had to look away, the pain brimming from Edie's jade eyes was all too familiar. I knew that feeling. The realization that what lay before you was of your own doing. Of your own doing but not of your own free will. It carried with it the lack of trust of your own self, accompanied with guilt and regret. It clung to one's throat, emotions so overwhelming that it choked the life from its very subject.

"I'm so sorry."

Was all she could manage before her allotted time was up and again the guards stepped into view.

"I'll go quietly, please. I don't want to startle him. He needs his rest. Just let me say goodbye…please?" Edie cast those grief stricken eyes towards Natasha with a ounce of hope.

My blood boiled at the simple question she was forced to ask, but I could tell Edie was aware of the severity of the situation. She may not know the circumstances that got her here but she could read the tension filling the corridor. Again the heavy booted men stepped away at the signaled nod given by Natasha.

"Hey, baby. I, um, I gotta go but..I want you to focus on getting better. Get some rest. Okay? I love you."

Steve's sleepy expression glazed towards her, barely enough to register as awake but he was able to conjure one sentence.

"Come back to me."

Those four words seemed to scare Edie more than the loaded gun that had been pointed at her just moments ago. She paused, gripping the flesh of Steve's hand that much tighter. It wasn't hard to notice the audible swallow of sorrow Edie pushed down before donning a thinly veiled strawberry smile.

"Always."

**-0-**

Naturally they separated us. The whole strength in numbers theory. Which I get but it didn't soften the blow or ease my need to be near her. Edie was strong, no doubt she could certainly take care of herself. Hell, she saved my ass countless times. Both in the field and during our off time. I always seemed to get myself into sticky situations, but Edie was always there. Talking me up or talking me out of a pinch.

Maybe that's why I felt it was my duty to protect her. Reciprocate all that she's done for me. Though it wouldn't be easy, I could tell these people were suspicious. As if they wore mistrust like a perfume, inhaling it constantly until their heads were so full of skepticism that they barely believed their own reflection.

Everyone except Steve, of course. He would follow Edie anywhere, do anything she asked, believe anything she said...Holy shit. Was that Pierce's play? Two birds with one stone. Manipulate Edie into doing the dirty work and it left his hands clean. And with them out of the picture to object it paved the way for countless opportunities of control.

"Hey! Hey!"

I bolted up from the bed, a new found purpose fueling my steps. The metal of my hand landed with a satisfying thud against the door frame.

"I know you can see me!"

My shouts turned towards the camera in the corner, the black lense like a beady eye following my every move.

God I was tired of being a zoo animal for other's entertainment and purpose. Though I'd seen worse containment, this place wasn't lacking in the amenities that's for sure. I'd seen SHIELD contracted buildings and I spent enough time in Pierce's cage to know this was neither.

"What is it?"

"I want to talk to your boss." I answered the voice from beyond, no doubt some young punk who got stuck with babysitting duty.

"Fury is not available right now. I'll be sure to give him your request." The disdain was practically dripping through the intercom.

"Not him. The guy who owns this place."

**-0-**

"Edie..?" Steve eased up from the creased leather of the exam table, fluorescent lights above welcoming him back to the conscious world in a blotchy haze.

"Easy, Cap. Here drink this." Bruce's voice came into focus, pushing a cup of chilled water into the soldier's hand. The cool liquid brought sweet relief to Steve's senses, but again he sought what wasn't there. Squinting around the bleached room, which seemed to spin the further he ventured upward. Steve blinked furiously through heavy lashes, scrounging for any sign of Edie. It hadn't been a dream right? He had been holding her in his arms.

"Where's Edie?"

The question fell against the doctor's hunched shoulders, busy scratching Steve's vitals across the pad.

"How are you feeling? You took quite the hit, how's your reflexes? Can you move your toes for me?"

Steve took a ragged breath inward, feeling as though he was fighting against quicksand. The more he advanced the worse he felt. Bruce studied him through black frames, checking the Captain's pulse again. He could sense Steve's cognitive state had taken just as much of a beating as his body.

"Captain? Your toes?" He reiterated, hoping to help the soldier focus.

"Sorry."

Both their gaze fell to Steve's socks, watching the slow flex of the tendons in perfect condition. Steve picked up on the unnerving sigh of relief that expelled from the Doctor's chest. He tried again, searching desperately for the answer.

"What happened to Edie? Is she okay?"

Bruce's shifty gaze tightened the knots in Steve's stomach and it was the voice from the shadows that was the true punch to the gut.

"She was placed in the containment room, the whole building was put on a lockdown."

Steve watched Natasha slink forward, a stern scowl guarding her feelings.

"We're lucky they were moving Barnes when they did or else who knows if we could have stopped her. We tried to separate you two but with her electrical energy we had no chance. Barnes was the only one able to stop her."

"I don't..understand.." Steve began, struggling to reconstruct the frayed pieces of his memory.

"She manipulated you, Steve. Got your guard down, infiltrated our team just like Zola wormed his way into SHIELD all those years ago."

"But she saved Tony, me. She even healed you."

"Just another way to get you to trust her. She over compensated. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing." Natasha rebuked, casting aside his attempts to defend his wife.

"I need to talk to her, I need to get her out of there."

Romanoff's hands found the Captain's shoulder, stalling him in his tracks.

"She's right where she needs to be. Steve, listen to me. I know you hate me right now but I'm trying to protect you...you could have died. She was relentless. I've never seen her like that."

The soldier could read the apprehension filtering over the woman's expression, softening the olive green of her eyes with worry.

"Nat, I know you're only trying to protect me. And I can't thank you enough for that. But that's my wife. That's my-our Edie. We've finally got her back and I'm not about to spend another minute away from her. Now if you wouldn't mind." Steve motioned towards the agent's stance blocking his path towards the door.

Exhaling stiffly through her nose Natasha stepped aside, gaze following the soldier's back as it left the room.

"I hope he knows what he's doing..because I sure as hell don't."

**-0-**

The guards pulled their attention away from the monitors to the opening door, watching as the Captain ducked through.

"Men." Steve greeted.

"Captain." They returned in unison before silence returned to the small control room.

"Is there something we can help you with, sir?"

The simple question fell against Steve's massive back as he stepped closer to the crystal two way window. He never took his eyes off the subject being contained.

She still wore his jacket. Brown leather consumed Edie's small frame as she sat huddled against the bed. Fear a permanent resident across her ivory features, vacant gaze rooted to the snow colored floor.

"I'm here to see my wife." Steve answered simply, swallowing back the anger that raked through his fatigued system. Shrugging off the urge to take it easy, it was need that fueled his actions.

The door shut with a soft click behind him but Edie could already sense his presence. Her demeanor changed in an instance, back straight and attention blinking from the floor.

"You shouldn't be here."

Edie watched him with caution, swallowing the urge to run to him.

"Well hello to you too, Gorgeous." Steve hummed, breaking a smile at just being in the same room as her again.

"I mean it, Steve. I'm trouble, it isn't-"

"I've been saying that for awhile now, Doll. You _are_ trouble." He sent her a wink, unfastening the pearled buttons of his dress shirt. Steve shrugged off the material, leaving him in his stark white tank top. Though he wasn't sure the time or if it was even the same day one thing he knew for certain was that there was no way he was sleeping alone another night.

"No, really. I don't know what I'm capable of. You should go, stay as far away from me as possible." Edie again urged, following Steve's movements to place his shirt against the adjacent chair.

Steve fell silent, focusing on the laces of his shoes before stepping to join her on the bed. The mattress groaned under the added weight but it was Edie who caged the true moan. The close proximity of the blond soldier reminded her of the extended gap in physical contact that she had actually had from her husband. A feral need rose from the depths, one that muffled her righteous held her breath as a broad hand found her cheek, brushing back an unruly tangle of blackened hair behind her ear.

"If it's alright with you, I think I've spent enough time away from my wife."

Steve's words murmured against Edie's lips, centimeters of air the only thing between the heat of their mouths.

"What do you say, baby?-is it alright with you?"

Edie could only muster a silent nod but she willed herself to speak, knowing the erotic ticks of the man before her. She knew he had to hear it.

"Yes, _my Captain._"

The strong hands of desire soon took the reigns. Like a starved animal Edie latched onto Steve's lips; plump and endlessly sweet.

Edie's skin hummed to life in the wake of Steve's touch. Fingers traced the length of her swan neck, curling around the threads of dark hair span across her shoulders. The world around them fell like a veil, and they were puppets of their own feral needs.

Steve's chest rumbled a heady growl as his green eyed vixen nibbled at the fullness of his bottom lip. Teasing the strength of his composure with a mischievous smirk and talented tongue.

Steve felt the warm tickle of nimble hands knotting in the tucked hem of his tank. Before he could catch her movements Edie snaked her legs around the Captain's narrow waist and was straddling him with a fierce urgency. The friction of her jean clad center against his growing member left Steve breathless. If that wasn't enough, those kiss swollen lips trailed their way along his jaw and down his neck.

"_Shitttt..Edie_." The husky grunt escaped Cap's throat as Edie found his weak spot in record time. Pearly teeth grazed and strong tongue worked the tender flesh behind his ear. The combination of that and the rocking motion of Edie's hips had the hulking man withering beneath the petite woman with ease.

She knew him like the back of her hand, able to close her eyes and follow the reactions of his body to that blissful finish line. But though it may be heaven on earth. The reunion. The expert touch of his lover. Steve's pleasure hazed vision caught a glimpse of a reflective glass.

The two way mirror.

"Edie.." Steve whispered, broad hands gripping the roundness of her bottom.

"Mmh I've missed you so much." Edie's moan ghosted the shell of his ear and Steve felt himself shiver.

"Edie. Stop." He said with more conviction this time, tempted hands moving to halt her grinding hips with a stern grasp. Immediately Edie reared back from the marked skin of her husband's neck. Confusion joining her lust clouded gaze.

"Teddybear, what is it? Did I hurt you?"

A gentle hand skated over his forehead, bushing back the messy strands of hair she'd created in the wake of their pawing.

The soldier felt his heart swell at the endearing sound of his nickname pass her lips, something he was worried he may never hear again.

"No, not at all. It's just.." Steve managed through a puffed laugh, before lowering his mouth against Edie's ear.

"You remember that time at the library?" He watched the wheels turning before Edie's narrow gaze beamed with understanding when he motioned towards the glass.

"Ohhh, you mean when we thought we were alone." Edie concluded, giggle curling her lips.

"Exactly. You couldn't keep your hands off me that day either." Steve reminded lowly, giving her sides a tickling squeeze.

"Oh you little liar! You were the one who kept leaning over me. With that cologne, you know exactly what you were doing." Strawberry lips hissed with a knowing smirk.

"Me? You and that dress. I don't know why I even let you leave the apartment. If I had it my way, you'd never leave that bed." Steve declared darkly, running those heavenly lips the length of Edie's jaw. Fueling the very fire they were trying to contain.

"See. You're such a _tease_, Captain!" Edie exhaled in a shallow breath, hands gripping the taught muscles engulfed around her.

"We gave them a pretty good show though, didn't we?"

Steve's chuckle vibrated against the crook of Edie's neck.

"Sorry you can't go back there anymore. Blacklisted? was that what they called it?"

"Completely worth it." Edie assured in a gleeful declare to the ceiling.

It was as if nothing had happened between the two. Picking up from the very moment they left off. Chemistry was something neither could deny.

But soon a somber silence fell over the room when the reality of their current circumstances settled in. Edie slipped from Steve's lap. They both reclined back against the mattress, facing each other in a tangle of limbs. Seconds panned to minutes, only their even breaths filled the room until Edie found her voice.

"I'm scared."

Steve tugged them closer at the sound of her sudden overwhelmed confession.

"Of what?"

Edie swallowed the mounting lump in her throat, but it was the soft touch of another forehead against hers that gave her the courage.

"Me."

* * *

Suspenseful! Do you believe Edie? Is Steve safe? Are Buck and Tony teaming up?

Stay tuned xoxooxxxoxoxo!

Hope you enjoyed! Please review :)


	9. All Fun and Games

I CANNOT apologize enough for the ridiculously long wait! But to make up for it I made this one long! I wanted to get this perfect for you guys and my schedule has been insane...enough excuses, Kelsey. Anyway, I know some of you have been like "where is she going with this?" And I myself have been kind of saying the same thing. I had a set plot then other ideas popped in that I liked so I flipped a coin and decided to follow this idea. I've sprinkled in some laughs and hope I've captured Tony in the right light. I pray I haven't lost any of you, stick with me and it will all come together (*fingers crossed*). Thank you all :D

Enjoy! XOXOXO

**PS: REMEMBER this is RATED M, please skip those parts if it is not your cup of tea. **

* * *

Let's get the lay of the land.

Three days have passed since Edie's..outburst? Shall we call it.

The team is on edge for obvious reasons but that doesn't deter Cap. Not one bit. Spending every waking moment with her, as if to make up for lost time. Tony has since picked up his detective hat and gone full Sherlock. Determined to get to the bottom of this.

Edie, still nursing her wounded conscious, has made sure to do everything she can to stay in the confines of that containment room. Refusing to put anyone in harm's way again. Giving her time to reflect and gather the broken bits of her memory once more.

All the while the threat of mass genocide is looming over them all, Pierce's puppet strings extending far past the HYDRA compound.

**-0- Present day, wee hours of the morning.**

"Hi Mr. Stark, is there something I can help you with?" Anxiously the guard greeted towards the control room entrance.

Tony's eyes fell to the life beyond the camera feed. Barnes sprawled against the mattress, passing the time with a little game of catch. Metal plates shifted with the overhead lights as he tossed a random object in the air and caught it with adept skill.

Up and down. Up and down.

Tony watched the soldier, seeming so aloof and relaxed. As if being confined was natural to him, almost an expectation.

The scenes of the attack blurred to life in Tony's mind. He'd exhausted the recorded camera video with countless replays. The interrogation especially. Ignoring Fury's demands and Steve's protective growls, Natasha's murmured doubts and Tony's own, skeptical words.

Instead Iron Man focused on Edie. Her movements, her reactions. When he noticed a small something. A blip that could easily be missed. A surge of blue up the flesh of her wrist that was exposed by the leather of Steve's jacket. A jerk of her head and the whisper of a pleaded….'No'?

The closer Tony watched the more obvious it became. Edie's wrestle with control. Like Jekyll and Hyde. One hand crippled with power while the other fought to preserve.

But it was this Barnes. This HYDRA turned ruffian who stopped it. Stopped her.

Why? After he himself, attacked them on the bridge and seized Edie.

Why was Edie so hell bent on ensuring this man's safety?

_'Please don't hurt him. He's the reason I'm here. He saved me.'_

Those were Edie's exact words. Begging and pleading to safeguard the Winter Soldier.

Something wasn't right. They were given a puzzle without all the pieces and Tony was determined to figure it out. He had already begun the first leg of investigation without a door-busting discovering, when he received a request.

_"Sir, a Sergeant James Barnes has implored for your presence."_

Things were really getting out of hand around here. Lovers quarrel, Fury's men crawling all over the place and now a Russian tin soldier, who technically was under arrest, was making requests.

The clock read some ungodly early hour and the sun hadn't even graced them with its presence yet.

"I was summoned by Robocop in there." Tony explained, hands stuffed casually in the pockets of his jeans.

"Oh right, let me go get the Director and we can go in."

Can? Since when did Tony need permission to go enter rooms? On his own property for that matter. Aside from that insult, the billionaire knew if he was going to do this, he was doing it alone. No grim faced Mega Spy was going to be looming over and barking out his own demands.

"Say how's that kid of yours?" Tony sidetracked, begging his brain to remember the name of the little boy written in the Agent's file he'd memorized just minutes ago.

"Ricky, right?"

The younger man stopped dead in his tracks, a prideful smile replacing the duty of protocol.

"Very good, sir. Growing everyday. Would you like to see a picture?"

Tony nodded his head in feigned eagerness. With his gaze locked on the scrolling pictures of the young blond tot, Tony snaked a hand onto the control panel.

"What a little scamp. You don't say? 6 already?"

The genius's voice reached an octave to muffle the click of the flash drive that slipped from the long sleeve of his shirt.

"How cool of a dad would you be if you came home with an autograph?"

The Agent's beaming excitement fed right into Tony's trap.

"Really? That would be amazing!"

Tony waved nonchalantly at the idea. The older man readied himself to urge the Agent to leave his post and find an article to bless with his permanent scribble when the conversation took another turn.

"Do you really think Captain America would give me an autograph?"

The muscles in Tony's jaw flexed, annoyance daring to drop his friendly mask. The Man of Iron physically blinked away the flaring eye roll and instead donned a tight grin.

"Of course! Go find America's golden boy. I'm sure he's out there helping old ladies cross the street or some other noble deed but he'll certainly stop all that for little Ricky. Go on get outta here." Tony urged though he read the hesitation. "Oh, don't worry I'll watch this guy. Go on, make your son proud."

Before the assurance could even completely form across Stark's lips, the Agent was out the door.

_"Will Captain America give me an autograph?"_ Tony scoffed to himself in a high tone, "He sure as hell isn't footing the bill around here! But be my guest." Sliding out his phone, he engaged the software that sought to override the cameras. Feeding the monitors a looped visual of Bucky relaxed and alone. Tony could conduct his business completely under the radar.

The messy tresses of his hair bobbed as Stark stepped from his leaned position and gained clearance into Bucky's room.

"I come in peace, Rambo." Calloused palms revealed themselves.

Bucky only paused his game for a moment, face indifferent at Tony's presence. Though he resumed the catch and release of a decorative glass orb, the Sergeant kept a trained eye on Tony as he skirted around the room.

This man, dressed in jeans, a graphic shirt and tired eyes, meandered around. Fidgeting with just about everything as if seeing it for the first time.

"So you just going to play the cool guy? Call me here and then make me ask all the questions?" Tony reclined against the sofa, leg hooked over his knee.

Still the soldier said nothing, only glazed toward the prying eyes blinking red in the corners.

"Oh don't worry, it's just us chickens."

Bucky looked to the phone wiggling in the air.

"She didn't do it." He finally spoke.

"Didn't attack us? Yeah, sorry I was there. That definitely happened. You're going to have to be more specific."

"It wasn't Edie. They did things, took control."

"Are you going to keep speaking in these caveman riddles? Because if so this is going to be a long day and I haven't had my smoothie yet."

Bucky's brow furrowed at the reference. The same expression often donned by both Edie and Steve during a conversation.

"Oh, God. Now we have three of them." Tony groaned, head falling against the back of the couch.

"Ya, know what? Forget this. Let's go."

Bucky watched the goateed man's movements towards the door. They stared at each other for a moment longer, expectantly.

"I know you know how to use a door. Let's go, boy. I'll treat you to your very own smoothie if you're nice."

**Many hours and frosty beverages later…**

"Riddle me this, Rambo and take into account the amount of disdain I have to swallow for Fury and his circus of dancing spies when I ask this. But, how do you know this isn't true? How do you know that in August 1943, Edie wasn't at a HYDRA compound?" Tony threw his hands toward the mound of documents and footage digitized across the room.

Bucky tore his astonished gaze away from the advanced technology. Giving the icy green slush a long, delicious slurp before answering.

"Because she was with me. In Italy."

The Winter Soldier took a step towards the hologrammed event report that documented an interview between Red Skull and Edith, the Chameleon.

"This date, it's all wrong. She was kicking my ass in poker that day, not-" Eyes narrowed at the screen, smoothie pointed.

"Debriefing on Allied powers whereabouts and weapon status. She'd won my watch that day." A smile ghosted Bucky's lips at the memory. She had loitered that over his head for days before giving it back. A cheeky grin always there to bust his chops about something. It sickened Bucky to know she was being painted as a traitor.

"Little Edie a poker champ" Tony pondered for a moment "Yeah I could see it. Bouncing curls, doe eyes and all that. It's distracting. Cap fell victim to it." Tony chuckled to himself before realizing his choice of words.

"I didn't mean _victim_, victim. Oh, forget it." The billionaire huffed with indifference when he noticed the Sergeant had long since ignored him for an array of photos. Scrolling through the various scenes until a collection in particular caught his eye.

"What's the date on these ones?"

Tony paused mid yawn to answer.

"November 12th, 1943. Just labeled: Physical Exam." He continued to leaf through for more details "Must have been a routine exam once she returned to the HYDRA base-"

Tony's words zoned into a muffle as Barnes took a step closer, studying the images with a constricted gaze. In varying angles and to thoroughly examine every body part, photos were taken of the Healer in a uniform of a tank top and shorts. It was the lack of a certain blemish that had Buck reeling.

"Her scar. She doesn't have her scar." He whispered in breathless realization.

"What was that, Fabio? You're going to have to speak up. I'm not as young as I look."

Bucky pointed sternly at the expanded photograph of Edie, specifically the flesh her left shoulder exposed by the cotton strap.

"We were ambushed on the outskirts of a forest. I took a hit, several actually and Edie healed me but not without earning a little souvenir. Above her heart, there's scar from the bullet." Subconsciously the soldier caressed the remnants of his own scar, metal cool to the touch.

Tony took a moment to study the image, mind racing to process.

"Well, we're going to need more than your word and a war wound to get her out of this. No offense, but your credibility is kind of in the toilet right now."

"What do you suggest?" Buck inquired, battered mind already exhausted but he dared not stop. Not until Edie was cleared of all fictitious charges. He would willingly take all the blame, face the judgement without question if it meant she would walk free again.

Again Stark glanced at everything before them.

What did they have so far?

They knew the evidence was fabricated. But they needed a way to prove it. Slim chance everyone would take Sergeant Brainwash's word for it.

They had front row seats to HYDRA's mainframe. An endless fountain of archives at their fingertips. Breaking through the firewalls _was_ a bit too easy, though. Maybe HYDRA wanted them to find this and only this. So focused on the right hand that they don't notice the knife in the left, perhaps?

Was this all a charade to keep them from looking for the codes? Tony had to admit that had taken the back seat. He'd been channeling all his resources towards Edie's cause.

Was that their plot? Distraction?

Or was it all true, and both HYDRA agents had infiltrated their safe house just like Pierce had wanted.

All the swarming questions and suspicion was beginning to give Tony a headache. He rubbed his temples slowly and willed himself to think.

Trust his gut.

Playing out every situation, estimating the outcomes and taking into account previous events Tony compiled their options.

"We wait."

A protest formed but he beat Buck to the punch.

"All good poker players wait for the right moment. When the time comes then we're all in. At least she's here with us, safe."

Despite his urge to act immediately, Barnes knew Tony Stark was right. So he simply nodded and turned to toss his empty cup on the heap that was already piled high in the trash can. As long as he agreed to help and keep quiet about their little meetings, Tony promised Bucky all the frozen, fruity drinks he wanted. Little did the IronMan know but Buck would have done it for free.

It was the appearance of a particular blond rounding the corner that reminded Tony of the very reason he required secrecy. Not that Cap wouldn't be of help, especially since they were all vying for the same cause. But one defrosted war veteran at a time was all Stark could handle.

So with a quick and comical shove, Tony sent Bucky into the confines of an open supply closet.

"JARVIS, clean-up crew."

Swiftly all the digital holograms evaporated and a murmuring version of Dazed and Confused filled the speakers. Just in time for Steve to pop into the work station.

"Hey, Tony. I've asked everyone into the living room for a meeting." Steve advised, brow furrowed at the obscure stance of the younger man. Leaned heavily against a door, absently inspecting his cuticles.

"Aye Aye Captain." Tony nodded, applying more pressure to the jarring door.

"You alright, Stark?"

Again the billionaire donned an overly ambitious grin. "Right as rain, my man. I'll meet you down there."

Suddenly Bucky's muffled voice vibrated through the metal cracks.

"Did you hear something?"

Panic rose in Tony's throat despite his cool exterior. Steve took a fuller step through the door and Tony acted on his feet.

"This is my favorite part. Turn it up, JARVIS."

Soon electric jolts of Led Zeppelin's iconic guitar solo blared through the speakers. Concealing Bucky's protests and shooing the Captain back down the hallway.

Two birds, one great song.

Tony sighed a relieved puff of air towards the ceiling and stepped away from the door. Prompting a very confused and not so graceful soldier to come tumbling out.

"That was a close one."

Rubbing the back of his head with a wince, Bucky erected upward. "Yeah, maybe a little warning next time."

Smirking wickedly, Tony clapped a hand on his back.

"Aw come'on Rambo. Where would the fun be in that?"

"Who's Rambo?"

That was the last straw, Tony rolled a perfect glare towards the heavens.

"Oh, for the love of God. One of these days, I swear I'm sending you all to Pop Culture boot camp and be done with it."

Tony swiped his own drink from the counter and made a break towards the door.

"I've been summoned again, apparently that's becoming a regular thing around here. Stay put and don't touch anything. JARVIS show this guy a thing or two, would ya?"

Tony winked a goodbye, secured the room and started down the corridor. Bucky reclined back in the cushions of the office chair, silently slurping as the opening credits of Sylvester Stalone's blockbuster projected onto the wall.

**-0-**

Tony joined the convened group a bit tardy and claimed to be fashionably late. Scooting across the room he chose a seat next to the fidgeting doctor and waited for the show to start.

"I called you all here to discuss Edie." Steve began.

"I think the events a few days ago is discussion enough." The sassy remark could belong to no one other than the curvy redhead perched against the doorway.

"Are you vouching for her release?" Bruce found his voice.

"I'm vouching an agreement, a truce."

"There's so many questions unanswered. We barely got through a debriefing before, excuse my language Cap, shit hit the fan."

_What did she have for breakfast today? Sassy-o's?_ Tony chuckled at his own wit.

Silence soon blanketed the group.

The tall soldier could tell he was losing them already.

"C'mon guys, just breakfast then? An hour tops." Steve pled his case in a hopeful tone to the room.

"It took less than 15 minutes for her to land us all in the med bay." Fury pointed out, watching America's boy grimace at the reminder.

"Please, she hasn't had another episode. She refuses to come out unless everyone is on the same page and agrees."

"Us all agree? Teach' is gonna be in there awhile then." Tony's signature scoff sounded.

The team shifted for an answer with uncertainty, wounds left from only a few days ago still fresh in everyone's mind and body.

"I'll keep an eye on her, I promise."

The soldier had to swallow his pride to get the words out. Anger rising at the very fact that he had to bargain for the simple pleasure of sharing breakfast with Edie outside the containment room.

One that seemed to grow smaller each day. Steve had also unofficially moved into the room that was meant to hold the enraged Hulk. Harness something reckless and dangerous to those around. Two attributes that Steve felt could never describe his wife.

But the thing was they were part of a team. An eclectic group of people that didn't always share the same ideals. A group of people Edie and actually himself included, now looked at as a family. Hence the reason he was standing before them like a child begging for a new toy. Promising to do all the chores and eat his vegetables without complaining. Steve was willing to do anything to get Edie out of there, even for only an hour a day.

"You going to make sure to feed and clean up after her too, Cap?"

Steve had to literally bite his tongue to keep the venom at bay. With a deep breath through flared nostrils he turned towards the Man of Iron.

"Scouts honor, Tony." A broad hand found a place over Steve's chest. Perfect teeth gritted into a smile.

"I think we should have some conditions." Hill spoke up from her perched seat on the sofa.

"Seriou-what did you have in mind?" Steve's voice faltered as he attempted to wrangle his burning annoyance.

"I think we should discuss that as a group, maybe at a later time." Natasha reasoned to the thinly veiled anger radiating from the Brooklyn native.

"Cap, whatever you feel is right is good with me." Sam offered, continuing to shoulder the archway.

"Thank you, Sam." Steve nodded with appreciation before Tony mocked.

"Well aren't you a good sidekick. That's easy to say when you weren't even here, where were you anyway? Bird convention in town?"

"Out getting your precious juice. I believe your exact words were _'hey BirdBrain go get my juice or else I'll clip your wings'_. I had to go to four different stores!" Sam reminded, watching Tony break out in a geeking smirk at his own antics.

"Ahh..good one." He puffed a laugh towards the gloss of his shoes.

"Can we please get back to the task at hand." Steve skated a hand across his brow. Trying to hold a productive conversation with this group was like trying to hail a runaway train.

"Sir, you're being uncharacteristically quiet." Agent Hill turned towards the Director. Who had yet to verbalize as much as a cough from the secluded corner.

"Well it would seem Captain Rogers is running the show now. Funny how he calls a meeting when he didn't seem too fond of them a few days ago." Fury challenged in his usual stance; shoulders squared and arms crossed.

"You were interrogating her like some criminal. What was I su-"

"Listen to the orders of your superiors for one thing-"

"Really, Nick? Like you did to Pierce?" Tony joined in.

Soon the room erupted in a chaos of swirling arguments. Booming accusations and upper cut insults toppled over one another in a heat.

"VOTE!"

Everyone snapped their attention towards the couch. A particular doctor, who was reddening by the second.

"I uh, let's just put it to a vote for now." Bruce stammered to recover from the outburst. Eyes meeting the gaze of the surrounding group then the tiled floor. The room seemed to shrug in unison before Tony called out the outstanding topics for debate.

"All in favor of letting Edie out of containment for one hour a day until further notice?"

Everyone surveyed the room with curious eyes. Cap's hand was the first to reach the air, naturally. A slow trickle of limbs joined including Sam then Tony. Steve couldn't cage his surprise when Natasha's slim arm reached for the ceiling.

"What?...be good to have another female out here. Hill and I can only handle so guys are pigs." The redhead shrugged nonchalantly and Steve decided not to pry.

It would seem him and Edie weren't the only ones that had gotten attached.

Leaving those opposed as follows: Fury, Hill and Dr. Banner.

Bruce shifted nervously when the Captain's eyes fell to his raised hand. The words flowed from his mouth without a halt, feeling as though he needed to explain his decision.

"Captain, no disrespect. I just know what it's like to lose control and I think until we figure this all out…for everyone's safety it just-"

"Doctor, it's alright, really. You're entitled to your opinion. I appreciate your honesty." Steve cut in, unable to watch the younger man squirm with uneasy any longer.

"Really? Well how come you always seem to have a spare eye roll when I voice mine?" Tony jabbed with a sly smirk, playing with the tassle of a throw pillow.

"Because you have an opinion about everything." Steve pointed out, biting back his own grin at Tony's feigned hurt.

"Ohh is that so? Please would someone break Betty out already? I can't take Captain Cranky anymore. There's only room for one drama queen on this team, and I don't plan on relinquishing that crown anytime soon."

**-0-**

**Edie's POV: Containment room.**

_Steve._

My husband's name was drawn out in a longing whisper. Head jerking with a startle I scanned the room. Corner to corner, eyes narrowed for the source of the ghostly murmur.

But I was alone.

With a shallow sigh I chalked the delusion up to the complete isolation I was in. But it came again, just as I settled back into the cushiony chair.

_Ours._

"Who's there?"

Nothing.

Though my heart had began to race, I focused on the words before me. Slipping fingers between the pages to turn towards the next chapter. At least I got to read while I was in here. Despite the high level of security and 24 hour surveillance, Tony spared no expense. I was as comfortable as I could be in this neatly furnished cage.

_Want._

I took a deep, steady breath through my nose.

"It's all in your head, Edith."

That would appear to be true, as I was currently the only occupant in the room. But it was growing harder to ignore the ghosting whispers and immense pull that followed.

_Now._

It was getting impatient, rimming the simple syllables with urgency. When words weren't enough to get me to move, a sudden flush of feral hormones had my breath quivering, and pushing me to find Steve. My body had suddenly become foreign to me. Acting on its on accord.

After New York, something had changed within. Though I blamed it on stress and after effects of the replicated serum. Something strengthened not only my ability to heal but also this power that coursed through my veins. The power that nearly leveled the STARK tower that day. Now able to manipulate energy at a whim, create force fields, debilitate a man to the brink of death. All with a casual flick of my wrist. Of which had also taken on a change. Seeming at random the skin had begun to illuminated with an indigo glow. Pulsing blue rivers snaked up my arms.

My physical abilities weren't the only things that had been altered though. My emotions also fell victim to the wave of changes. This heightened instinct to protective Steve intensified to the extreme that I needed to be near him at all times or at least know that he was safe. Before I had just chalked it up to affection and being a 'newly-wed'. But after the attack on the bridge, what I did, there was no way to deny it any longer. The drive, the hunger to destroy anyone or anything that dared to touch him came alive again.

_Not a scratch._

I tried to control my breathing.

_Not one._

_Not on that smooth, sweet skin. Or those plump, pink lips._

Feral thoughts accompanied as the voice took a sinful turn. A warm tingle spread throughout each nerve and my head rolled back with a lusty gasp. Driven by a wave of hormones that screamed to find my mate, I uncrossed my ankles and tensed against the form of the chair.

_Steve!_

Gulping I turned towards the reflective glass of the window, calculating an escape. It wasn't a corrupting rage like I'd had felt before, not the menacing thoughts that had erupted to attack. This was something completely different. It was yearning.

Need, as the voice expressed.

But this wasn't the one that frightened me. It was the darker, grueling one that plagued me with a sickening nausea and had me white knuckling the armchair. These overwhelming thoughts invaded my conscious and soon fueled my actions. They had surfaced during my time at the HYDRA base and only seemed to intensify the other.

**Locate target.**

There it was. A queasy feeling began to bloom in my stomach and a burning surged through my veins. But again the other surfaced. Seeming to growl in response and branched a cooling sensation across my body.

_No. Steve, mine. Teddybear._

**Eliminate.**

_Protect._

I clenched the muscles of my jaw as the voicing thoughts wrestled, flaring the power within. It was easy to say I was literally battling myself.

However, the whiff of a familiar musk breezed in and my throbbing pulse calmed in an instant. The husky scent intoxicated my senses and I was licking my lips at the very thought of its owner.

It would appear, as the dark thoughts faded slowly, the protective urge had prevailed.

I fought to catch my breath and fixate my blurred vision back on the book in my lap when the security alarm sounded and a tall form filled the doorway.

I pushed down the apprehension of what might have happened if Steve hadn't had such impeccable timing. Peeking up from the crisp pages I was graced with the grinning face of my husband. Baby blues holding a secret.

"Guess whatttt?" Steve's voice sang, a new pep seeming to invade his step.

I watched him with a suspicious smirk as he found a spot at the feet. Broad hands slinked up my thighs, thumbs drawing absently.

"What?"

My voice cracked a bit with faked attempt to sound composed. The cooling sensation seemed to purr at the sight of Steve. I chewed the flesh of my cheek to focus on his words and not the pink curve of those plump lips. The ones I so desperately wanted to bite.

"I did it."

Oh, please keep those hands on me. My skin hummed to life under his touch, trailing ever so lightly up my curves to rest around my waist.

"Did what?"

I subconsciously arched further into his touch, itching for him to continue that heavenly rubbing. I don't know what had gotten into me. I was like a cat in heat. At the mercy of my heightened desires.

"Got you out, now it's not permanent. But it's at least breakfast."

"Really?"

Alarm and disbelief filtered through my tone. I would be lying if I said fear didn't flood my chest at the news but I dared not let it show, not with the happiness radiating from the face in front of me. That face that I would do anything for, including staying locked up forever if it promised his safety. The very face that seemed to be the only antidote to my stricken mind.

After I'd learned of what I did, it was as if the world around me tilted. The reflection in the mirror wasn't my own. These hands were following a foreign how could I deny him? After he'd gone to bat for me.

An unstable Healer, who was currently being accused of being HYDRA's star pupil. Someone who couldn't even defend herself because her mind was a hazy warzone of cryptic memories and thoughts. It was as if I was trying to read a language I was not versed in.

Steve simply nodded, pearly grin never faltering.

"Let's go eat, Doll."

And as I stood, slipping on my heels, a face flooded my mind. One that I had been thinking and worrying about since my..episode.

"What about Bucky?"

The mention of our friend had Steve stopped in his tracks, mountain of a back exhaling slowly.

"He's okay. I checked in on him earlier. Though Fury has him under tight security, I've tried-"

My temper flared.

"I want him out. If it wasn't for him I would still be there, Steve. He doesn't deserve to be treated like an animal, he didn't..didn't do what I did." The muscles in my jaw tensed to keep my lip from quivering.

"Doll, so do I. How do you think I feel? Two of the most important people in my life are being treated like common criminals, with no regard to what they've sacrificed. I had to basically beg to get you out. All I can say is we will try, okay? At least he's here with us. Safe."

A comforting roughness found my chin before he added, with a twitching smirk.

"Now will you please do me the honor of accompanying me to breakfast? There's waffles..."

I caged the giggle bubbling up at the way he sang the alluring temptation of food. Again I was reminded of my inability to deny Steve.

I decided to listen for once and put the Bucky argument back in the drawer of my mind...for now. The mention of waffles peaked my interest and I let my stomach take the wheel.

"Ohh Captain Rogers now you're speaking my language." I laced my hand through his and savored the touch.

We'd began walking down the hall, and already I could feel the tension that followed my appearance. The few passing Agents kept a tight grip on their guns and I couldn't blame them. Though, my own protective thoughts had dissipated into a flourish of giddiness at just the close proximity to Steve.

My emotions running the show lately.

I couldn't stop myself from touching him. Keeping a secure grip of his hand on mine and trailing a touch up his muscular bicep. Head nestled against Steve's shoulder, I inhaled that pure, musky scent with greed.

It was the ajar door of a random conference room that had those thoughts purring again.

_Need._

A heady breath escaped my lips and I could barely cage the groan that followed.

"Baby? You okay?" Steve jarred us to a stop, turning to brace my shoulders for inspection.

I could see confusion melt to a tinge of fear across his face.

Clouded sapphires giving him away.

If it wasn't for the reflective metal of a nearby door I wouldn't have known.

But I saw churning white that began to engulf my left iris.

A growl echoed from the back of my mind at the sight of Steve's fear.

_Mate afraid. Protect. Love._

I slinked into the embrace of my husband, snaking my arms to lock behind his neck. I could sense the rampant pulse beneath his shirt and immediately eased my power through his system with a calming sensation.

I breathed against those full lips.

"I won't hurt you, _we_ promise."

Before the soldier could protest, I had him by the mouth. Darting my tongue into the sweetness that lie within and it was his turn to groan.

That burly, throat thick moan that set my body into a tingling frenzy. Obediently Steve followed my actions, stumbling backward into the open mouth of the empty conference room.

His narrow waist hit the glossy table top, my mouth seeking the tender skin of his neck.

"Shit, Doll.."

I felt the vibration of his words under my kisses. My hands soon went to work. One working the growing tauntess under his jeans and the other slamming the door shut without so much as touching it.

I could sense confusion muddy the soldier's focus at the sudden ability but at the moment explaining was not on my agenda. To get him back on track I honed in on his weak spot.

"I need you, Steve."

Gnashing teeth grazed the sensitive skin behind his ear.

A pair of broad hands hastily conquered the hemlines of my dress, stripping it away until it was nothing more than a belt around my hips.

I could tell Steve was boiling over, just as much as I was. But these frisky thoughts wanted to have some fun.

Baby blues, hooded with thick lashes, followed my movements as I slinked the length of his toned form. Those eyes darkened with lust when my knees found the floor. I grazed a feathery touch along the denim snake, vying for release.

The room was thick, suffocating with desire. Steve's pulse was pounding in my conscious, flaring my own hormones. Painfully slow I unhinged the metallic teeth. With a locked gaze we watched each other. Through the shimming of his jeans, the playful kiss against the cotton head that twitched for attention. My Captain shuddered as the air grazed his most intimate part and it was heaven to witness.

Steve's eyes left me only once.

"Oh..God..damn."

Followed his rolling head. Falling against those massive shoulders as I took him into my mouth. I teased and licked the generous length. Black waves bobbed with every back and forth motion. Spanning from tip to base with a slurping greed.

I couldn't help but enjoy the view from below. A picturesque scene of pure ecstasy. Pouty lips hung slightly agape, inhaling heady breaths as his excitement mounted. Messy blonde hair swayed with every subtle buck and jerk. Large palms white knuckling the table's edge.

When Steve's gaze returned to mine he found a smirk against the glistening head of his member.

"Oh, you're having fun, aren't you?"

His stoic voice was shaky and mischievous. A quick, dark chuckle vibrated his chest and sent a quiver to my dripping core.

Nimble fingers trailed through my hair and guided me back to my full height. However before Steve could gain the upper hand I turned abruptly. And like a true frisky feline I arched myself across the coolness of the table top until my thighs hit the chilling edge. Glancing ever so slightly over my shoulder, I offered up the roundness of backside with a devilish wink.

I caught Steve's lips twitch with a pleased smirk, swiftly following my silent command.

He was on me. Hands clawing away the flimsy lace of my panties, the dampened material putting up little protest. At last we were exactly where I wanted.

Where I needed.

The purring thoughts seemed to vibrate my every nerve. Demanding for release.

A heated moan fought its way from my chest, one I barely recognized to be my own, as Steve perched his throbbing member at my entrance. My thighs already slick with anticipation.

But Karma had found me. In the teasy form of a rock solid cock that began rubbing every place but where I yearned.

This prompted me to look back once more. Met with a pearly white smile and dark desire.

Those broad hands found my waist again, this time with a tight grip that halted my attempt to delve him inside.

"Such a greedy girl you are."

His voice was enough to get my urges stirring. Now more than ever. I felt alive with lust and I couldn't contain myself.

"I should punish you, not reward you."

The words taunted me.

I was paralyzed with need. Unable to coherently respond I simply pouted a whimpering lip and arched my heated center up the soldier's length. Begging.

I bite back my triumphant grin when the grasp on my hips lessened and a hot sigh joined the air behind me. A simple, wanton action and I had him. But any boasting that I might have mustered escaped me as quickly as the breath in my lungs when, without warning, he eased into me.

"Steve!" I cried out in uninhibited pleasure, girth stretching me to the max. I whimpered with a shaky breath when a hand found my mouth like a gentle muzzle.

Again I cried out, this time muffled against broad digits when I was suddenly blanketed by a solid chest at my back and he filled me completely.

"Shhh, Gorgeous. We wouldn't want to reveal our private party, now would we?"

Husky desire laced through Steve's every word,wet lips ghosting the shell of my ear.

There was no space between us. We were completely one. I was already shaking into my next orgasm, body so sensative to his very essence.

I could only manage a short shake of my head. Eyes fluttering shut, his nose nuzzled into the thickness of my waves. Those powerful hips gave the first, sharp thrust and sent us both reeling. His broad hand slipped from my kiss swollen lips and fell to my bare breasts. Tweaking the sensitive pink buds and massaging the tender flesh, which bounced with every thrust my husband delivered.

Like a good girl I kept quiet. Bundling all those pleasure rooted moans and cries into the confines of my lungs. Ignoring their pleading burn to be released, I only allowed a few desperate squeaks to join Steve's panting breath.

He leaned back, leaving my back cold in his absence. The Captain grabbed the fullness of my hips and found a sinfully sweet rhythm.

I tasted the bitterness of blood seeping from the chewed flesh of my lip as I tried not to arise suspicion from anyone passing by.

Though it was growing increasingly difficult to cage those sounds. The length of him driving in and out. Back and forth. With deliberate, calculated thrusts Steve knew exactly what he was doing. I was squirming under him, silently begging for more every time he hit that certain spot. That spot that sent my eyes rolling back and my nails clawing the table top.

All the while the thoughts were there.

Crooning right along with me, surging with approval at the very presence Steve. It had been so long, too long.

I began to see stars, but another familiar sensation chased my orgasm. That cooling surge spread rapidly through my entire body, intensifying the already overwhelming pleasure. I slammed a heavy fist against the table top to keep from screaming.

_Need._

I rocketed up from my reclined position with a new urgency. I needed to feel Steve all around me again. Reading my body, a muscular arm snaked around my waist and held me flush against the pounding of his heart. Faster. Harder.

Every fiber of my being was standing on end. Each nerve humming and the lines of my consciousness blurred into a haze. The velvety muscles of my core fluttered tightly into another orgasm.

"Jesus, Edie..I'm gonna.."

The relentless rhythm of his hips and constricting grip around me signaled Steve was close. Teetering on that glorious edge.

I was spiraling into my second and he, his first.

Somehow in the midst of all the pawing and ragged breaths, I found his ear.

"That's it my love, let go."

Steve snarled with hissing pleasure against my neck as an erupting warmth filled me.

We stayed frozen together for a moment of eternity. Both circling down from the clouds above with blotchy vision and spasming muscles.

**-0- Same day, Breakfast with the team...STARK Safe House Kitchen**

Now Edie had seen war. Witnessed the nervousness of a first date and pain of public speaking. But the awkwardness that tensed the immaculate kitchen was enough to have the young woman heading for the hills. But she had to remind herself that Steve stuck his neck out.

"You're late." Natasha's voice was the first to acknowledge their addition.

Steve searched the leather of his boots but found no inkling of an answer.

"Get lost, did we?"

Tony read the two's appearance, narrow smirk playing. The ruffle of Edie's usually neat pin waves, not to mention the rosy smear of lipstick across the Captain's neck was enough to give them away.

"Um, yeah. Took a wrong turn."

A broad hand pawed the muscles of Steve's neck. Body language defying their thin alibi.

"Smells great." Edie could read the unease rippling across their faces. Going as far to think Nat slipped a hand under the table, no doubt towards the gun always strapped to her thigh. Not that Edie blamed her.

Despite all that though, it was wonderful to see them all together. Only two missing were missing, Thor and Clint. But Edie didn't think an invitation was appropriate considering the circumstances. Would only be more people for her to hurt. Edie fought the urge to actually shake the dark thoughts from her head and followed Steve's lead towards the open seats.

A chorus of utensils hitting plates filled the stiff atmosphere of the dining room. Everyone seemed to be plagued with the same illness: awkwardness induced mutism. A faked interest in the food being pushed and pulled across their plates. The room itself seemed to be holding its breath, choking on it's own silence. That was until a strawberry grin decided to break the ice.

"So when did Fury become…undead?"

Laughter ignited at the pure innocence of the simple question, Tony nearly choking on his orange juice. Starting as a ripple until a roaring tidal of chuckles swept across the entire table.

"Not undead but oh-what were they called again, dear?" Edie asked from behind her hand, green eyes looking to Steve.

His expression narrowed with thought, scrounging his brain for the name.

"You remember, don't you?...That show, oh with all the dead people. Rather gross if you ask me but I actually quite liked it. Chompers? Is that what they called them? No that wasn't it." Edie's external thinking process only seemed to make the others laugh harder. The two older Avengers racking their brain for the simple word that would describe when a person comes back from the great beyond.

"It's like watching a kitten try and get out of a box or a dog chase its own tail."

"Painfully adorable." Tony agreed with Sam's observation.

Unable to watch it any longer, the billionaire put the couple out of their misery.

"Shaggy, Scooby. I believe the word you're looking for is Walker aka Zombie."

"That's it! See I was close." Edie smugly triumphed over the warm wisps snaking from her coffee mug.

"Chompers? Not even close, Dollface. Sorry, can't give you that one." Tony sent Edie a wink as she pulled a face.

Before they knew it the group had slipped back into old habits. Reconvening as a family over a meal instead of a ragtag group pinned against a decade spanning disease known as HYDRA.

The topics moved from the lighthearted tale of Fury's resurrection, to the more serious debate as to who held the highest score for Dance Party 3000. The group hadn't played since the last time they were held up in one of Stark's luxury compounds. Without Thor and Clint there to defend themselves and with the new addition of Sam Wilson they all agreed it was only fair that they start a new battle.

"Oh you just wait, Cappy. This isn't one of those VA charity balls. I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Just put it on, Stark and we'll see who the charity case is." Steve mirrored Tony's eyebrow raised standoff.

"Are we forming teams? Because I call Edie!"

It would appear the Healer and Iron Man were the only ones to find his declaration amusing. Remembering how they both dominated last time. Even though she was new to the technology and moves, Edie had always loved dancing. She picked up the game quickly and soon had every one of the edge of their seats as her and Tony battled for their name on the leaderboard.

"Alright good. It's settled, Betty Boop and I will go first. Show you all how it's done. Then Steve and Red, you two. Brucie you get Birdboy, sorry." Tony ignored Falcon's disapproving protest.

_It was just too easy_, Tony smirked to himself.

"Hop to it, gang. I'm going to do some stretching. Might wanna do the same Gramps, arthritis is nothing to mess with." The dark haired man jabbed before excusing himself from the task of cleaning up.

Edie muffled a giggle through tightened lips, earning a playfully scowl from her husband. But she only seemed to laugh harder as the word 'traitor' fell from those full lips and he swooped in to give her waist a ticklish squeeze.

"Hey no horse play! I don't want my teammate injured." Tony barked from his reclined position against the sofa at the sound of Edie's squeals. His version of 'stretching'.

The allotted hour stretched far beyond the sixty minutes but no one dared to blow the whistle.

Instead, for the first time in days a light hearted atmosphere wafted in and blanketed the group in a fit of smiling banter.

It was as Sam and Tony faced off, under the saucy notes of Hips Don't Lie by Shakira, that Edie fell in beside Natasha.

"Nat, can I talk to you for a second?" Black waves motioned towards the solitude of the kitchen.

"Yeah sure."

Scooting into a secluded corner, Edie searched for where to begin but it was the redhead that beat her to the punch.

"I won't apologize for what I did, I was protecting the team." Defense rimming her words and eyes.

Edie puffed a shaky laugh at the emotionless rebuke.

_Classic Nat, always ready for a trial._

"I wasn't going to ask you to, quite the opposite actually."

Confusion muddied the assassin's stoic expression. Edie wetted her lips, taking a moment to string together all the things she pined to express.

"I wanted to thank you. I don't have answers or an explanation for what happened. And your suspicion is warranted, I don't blame you. I am grateful for what you did."

Subconsciously jade eyes panned to the bantering group, all huddled around the flickering screen. So many precious heartbeats gathered in one place. Many that wouldn't be alive without the assassin's actions and ability to take initiative.

"All I want to do is protect him, to protect all of you. This team is everything to me and to think I..I am responsible for nearly tearing it all apart.."

A gentle touch found Edie's shoulder. The outreach of compassion and swarming regret nearly sucked the wind from her sails.

"Well, anyway the reason I called you over here was to ask you something."

The Healer inhaled a collective breath.

"Next time, God I hope there's not a next time. But...Nat I want you to ensure their safety. No matter what this time. Don't hold back."

Despite Romanoff's expert training of detachment, shock could be read creeping across her flawless complexion as the request set in. In contrast to the younger woman Edie was rather calm and composed despite the subject.

"Edie..I-"

Hesitation, ready to refuse if Edie dared to let her continue.

"I mean it and I want this kept between you and I. Do we understand each other, Agent?" Edie punctuated the severity with the use of Natasha's title.

Edie could accept her death. But she would not accept his, or theirs and especially not by her own hands.

"Yes."

A watery smile found Edie's face at the indifference that returned to Natasha's voice.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope I made it up to you :) Please let me know how I did. I cannot get over how adorable Bucky would be addicted to smoothies. He's such a cutie pie, I just wanna protect him and love him!

"I won't hurt you, _we _promise." ...What was that all about? I know I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off Teddybear either. Stay tuned to find out more. And don't worry I already have Chapter 10 planned and in the works.

xoxoxoxox!


	10. I'm in heaven

A month? I don't even have an excuse except that I have just crawled out of one of the worst trenches of Writers Block I've ever been in. I know that doesn't make up for it, so I hope you forgive me! Chapter 11 is in works, I promise!

As always I don't own Marvel or their characters.

Let's jump back a few years, shall we?

* * *

**1942**: **Tønsberg, Norway**

With each footstep, carnage followed. The once towering, ornately engraved doors of the church were reduced to nothing more than a pile of splintered oak. Discarded amongst the crumbled brick and pooled blood of those who had protected the supernatural artifacts for generations.

"What do you suppose it is, sir?"

Dr. Zola implored, shifty eyes peered around the shoulder of Johann Schmidt. A nervous panic crept up the smaller man's spine. He panned his gaze from the HYDRA leader to the recently discovered box, lid open wide. Zola took a sharp breath in, following Schmidt's movements.

A black glove reached inside, clasping the most ordinary looking stone; dull brown and heavy in weight with an obscure pattern of symbols etched across the surface. The commander plucked the stone from its nestled place beside the Tesseract, an unexpected discovery in the hidden sanctuary. The Churchkeeper gave no explanation to its origin or power, only a warning which fell unheeded to the cracked concrete along with his lifeless body.

Schmidt brought it closer to his face with a narrow gaze.

"That is for you to find out, Doctor." A heinous smile glowed in the stone's teal shadow.

And it would be after hours of research and careful trials that the scientist would indeed unearth the power of this unknown artifact but only a certain dark haired American would be able to endure its crippling strength and harness the endless energy.

**-0-** **Italy**, **1944\. Camp site of the 107th. **

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?" Buck slung the bag over his shoulder. "Actually, I'm going to talk to Dietz. Insist they let me come."

Edie paused the primping of her hair, "You will do no such thing. I won't be gone long." She straightened her uniform before dipping through the tent's open mouth.

Green eyes spared no elaborate roll at the grumble from behind as they proceeded towards the awaiting convoy. Various heads of femininly styled hair climbed into the back of a canopied truck one by one.

"I don't understand why you have to go; the Saints were assigned to our squad. Now they want you to travel halfway across this God forsaken country all 'cause they're shorthanded?" That Brooklyn accent grew thicker with the Sergeant's rising annoyance. Edith, with the company of a few other nurses were to be escorted to a nearby U.S base and assist the wounded left after a recent attack. A few of their nurses had even taken a hit and they were down in numbers.

Edith stopped just short of the receding line of women, jarring Buck to halt on her heels. She turned to face him with a knowing look. Soft hands found his chest, smoothing the knitted material.

"Because no matter what rank or assignment, we are all fighting the same war." Edith caught Bucky's chin, when it was his turn to roll those velvety blues. "Are you still snockered from last night? Don't tell me you're going to miss me, Barnes."

The two mirrored a pinched smirk at the reminder.

They'd shared a bottle of dark wine the night before Edie was due to leave, conjured from a nearby village to nurse their disappointment. They both ended up in a fit of rosy cheeked giggles, gagging at the dryness and vowing to buy each other a proper American drink once back in the states.

"Hell no! It'll be like..like a vacation while you're gone." He craned to hand up her bag to a fellow soldier, "Maybe I'll finally get some of that peace and quiet I've heard people talking about."

Edie slapped the Sergeant's thick bicep at the sight of his winking smile.

Soon their ribbing came to a slow lull, the severity of their separation looming with the gray clouds above. Nothing was promised in this war stricken world they were living in. Men and women fell victim every day.

Sisters.

Brothers.

Wives.

Husbands.

_Friends_.

They had both witnessed it. That blink of a person's light. Here and then gone. So quickly, so fleeting, as if they weren't really even here. It was very possible that neither Bucky nor Edie would see each other again. They'd grown close, counted themselves amongst the lucky to have stayed together for so long. To have stayed alive.

"Keep out of trouble." Edie murmured to the buttons of Bucky's sweater, distracting herself with a loose thread instead of the panic that filled her lungs.

A coarse thumb found the curve of Edith's jaw, forcing her watery gaze.

"Don't get all sentimental on me now, Nightingale." Bucky's lips brushed her temple and held Edie in place with broad hands.

"You'll be back before you know it." Another kiss whispered into the dark curls of the nurse's hair.

"Moving out, Ladies!" A masculine voice barked over a coughing exhaust pipe.

Their time was up.

The two had been inseparable since they met. Fighting Hitler's war side by side. But Bucky was forced to let her go. The New Yorker stuffed his hands into the depth of his pockets to keep from pulling Edith back and daring to never let go.

Taking the escorting soldier's hand, Edie was hoisted into the back and soon swallowed by the overlapping tarp. Buck felt himself exhale heavily with defeat when the tailgate echoed with a latched thud. Steely blue orbs studied the mud caked to his boots and kicked absently at the soft earth. He hadn't realized what it would truly feel like without Edie by his side until she wasn't. Without her quick wit and elbow nudging laugh, Bucky was just another lone soldier wandering across Europe.

Now, who would he pass the time with? Who would keep an eye on Edie and make sure she remembered to eat? She had a habit of getting invested into her work or a book and end up forgetting.

Who would run their fingers through his hair and read him an adventurous tale to distract from the daily horrors around them?

Just when Bucky thought sadness would envelope him completely a cheeky voice piped over revving gears.

"Hey Barnes!" A contagious strawberry smile spanned wide between the rough flaps. "Remember, don't take any wooden nickels!" Vigorous wave cut through the air.

"Would you go already? Ya, pain in the ass!" Snarky glee absorbed Buck's face as he watched Edie blow him a kiss and disappear through the tree line.

**-0- Valzella, Italy**

After an extensive journey through steep European mountains and low lying valleys the Saints pulled up to a town of tents peppering a grassy hillside.

"Do we know how many were injured?" A mousy blonde, known as Ginnie Gardner, quizzed. Following the parade of medical staff that exited from the convoy.

"Hard to say exactly, the squad was hit harshly." Edie mused, "No matter the number or the prognosis of the injury though. These are our boys, so remember those smiles, Ladies."

She received a collective nod from the group before they all dipped through the tent-based hospital. The squad of nurses quickly delved into the numerous tasks ahead of them, all putting their training and field experience to use.

Once the wounded men were either cleared for re-assignment or declared too badly injured to be released back to combat, the Silent Saints would return to the 107th. They would rejoin their platoon and march further onto the front line, one step closer to ending the war and going home.

It was the second morning of their relocation, that Edie was reminded again of the life she left behind in the states.

"Are you going this afternoon?" Lydia murmured over her shoulder to Edie, who was busy rebandaging a ragged wound.

"Going where? Thought we weren't due to go back for a few days."

"No, silly. To the show. Didn't you hear?"

Edie's furrowed profile was answer enough for the fellow nurse.

"Captain America, he's performing here!" Lydia squealed, earning a groan from a fatigued soldier two beds over. The Delaware native quickly dropped her tone and cringed an apologetic face towards the wounded man.

"Oh, lovely." Edie mused absently, her attention kept on the intricate looping of gauze to cover the deep laceration seared across the soldier's leg.

"So? Are you going?" Lydia's voice amped with excitement, "He's a dreamboat! And supposed to be quite the performer, have you seen his posters?"

Before Edie could even reply, the tall brunette was scampering out of the tent.

"Isn't he cute?"

Edie was jolted from the side as her fellow nurse shoved a slightly weathered poster in her line of sight.

**THE STAR SPANGLED MAN, HIMSELF!**

There he stood, a man proud as a peacock donning a salute and a very patriotic get-up. Stars and stripes painted the shield hanging off his arm.

Edie had only really heard of America's Captain in passing, aiding the wounded and keeping up with Bucky took up most of the city girl's time. His shows often filtered in over a static-chopped radio, while in the kitchen line or muffled in the background of the medic tent. She'd seen some soldiers sprawled across their cots like young children with a crisp comic book sent from back home.

The nurse had to admit, there was this dreamy quality about him. Tall stature, athletic build, pearly smile. Edie supposed that's why he was chosen. The embodiment of an All-American.

Edie wasn't sure if it was the war effort or the sparkle in the paper-man's gaze but she suddenly wanted to '_find her part in the fight against Hitler_' or so the poster encouraged. As if she wasn't already doing that, from a rain soaked town in Italy.

However, it was a sudden fleck of light over those very eyes that caught Edie's attention. She abandoned the task at hand to take a deeper look. Marching towards the mouth of the tent, flyer in hand and narrowed with concentration. The clouded slivers of sun bathed the celebratory man in a better light and the air hitched in Edie's throat.

Pale blue and crinkling with life. He was so familiar.

"See, didn't I tell you he was dreamy? You're practically speechless Edith!"

The dark haired woman swatted the teasing poke that found her ribs, never taking her eyes from the man. A few stray drops of rain blotched the page and sprinkled a shiver down Edie's spine.

"Please tell me you'll go with me! He's only here one day; I'll die if I don't get his autograph." Lydia pleaded dramatically.

Uncertain of the connection but suddenly the shy blonde from the STARK convention surfaced in Edie's mind and a swell of homesickness budded in her chest.

_What was he doing? Had he joined the war effort?_

Edie's mind twisted into a current of hypothetical scenes and homesickness turned to jealousy, which bubbled to frustration. Frustration with herself for getting all worked up about a man that she barely knew, whom she would most likely never see again and who was likely engaged to a perky dame by now and wouldn't even give Edie a second look.

"Yes, yes I'll go. But, only if you help re-dress all these men's bandages. That _is_ why we're here." Edie reminded pointedly, motioning towards the row of bed-ridden soldiers. She channeled her annoyance at Lydia, shooing the woman back to her duties. Silently Edie folded the poster and slipped it into her back pocket.

No harm in keeping her own little souvenir.

That afternoon, tucked in the second row Edith, along with the rest of the Silent Saints waited eagerly for the show to begin. Edie caged the strong urge to roll her eyes at the piping shriek that rippled through the young women as soon as the music vibrated the speakers.

Soon the stage was filled with leggy dancers and an eruption of cheers and whistles sounded from the war tired men around. It wasn't but a few seconds later that a strapping figure strolled onto the platform, breathing life to the man in the poster.

Jade eyes followed him throughout the entire routine, a wide smile breaking across her face at the sound of his voice.

"Are you ready to help me sock ol' Adolph on the jaw?"

The row of nurses nearly fainted as that pearly grin from the stage spanned across the crowd. But Edie was the one at a loss for words, that sensation of familiarity flooded through her again once the Captain landed his gaze on her. But before either could register their past encounter a banter erupted a few seats back.

"Sock him on the jaw? I'll piss on his fuckin' corpse!"

The outburst was awarded with a symphony of hoots and hollers from surrounding men.

Edie watched the 'Man with the Plan' shift uneasily behind the microphone, the twitch of shyness that invaded his expression reminded her again of the man from New York.

"Please men, language. There are ladies present."

That only encouraged another soldier to join in.

"Speakin' of dames, bring out the girls!"

"Yeah! We wanna see the girls again!"

Anarchy began to spread and the Captain could tell he had lost them.

Accepting the defeat of morale, the tall blonde strained to peek behind the curtain.

"Um, yeah, okay. Let me see if they'll come back."

Edie felt an anger brimming under her skin as the group continued to berate the performer. She recognized one of the men from earlier, his sling knotted by her own fingers.

"Marty! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Edie recalled his name, and the soldier stiffened.

Much like the very students in her class, the congregation of enlisted men responded to the sternness in Edie's voice and snapped to attention.

The mechanic from Yonkers wasn't the only one that took notice to Edie's abrupt defense. Steve, who had gone back stage to corral the dancers, peeked back out to catch the scene.A beautiful, uniform clad woman with a fierce tongue and narrow eyes stood above the rest.

"Remember, I set that arm. I can unset it just as fast."

She had earned herself a hasty 'yes ma'am' from the ring leader and soon the crowd was obediently quiet again. Steve bit back the grinning shock that replaced his worry. He spied from behind the confines of the curtain as once again the dancers reconvened on the stage and Edie was ushered out of the crowd by a fellow nurse.

He followed their sneaking movements to the back of the make-shift theater, the taller brunette totting a weathered poster and pen.

He overheard them, just around the corner.

"Fine, I'll do it. Get yourself together. He's cute but he's no Fred Astaire, you know."

Steve smiled to himself at Edie's comment. He quickly removed his mask and pulled back the thin sheet.

"Can I help you ladies?"

Two deer caught in the headlights. Two olive green clad deer with long lashes and rosy cheeks. They gaped upward, and gauged his every step as he descended closer.

The brunette was speechless, simply staring with glittery stars in her brown eyes. The lack of confidence from the other prompted the raven haired vixen to speak up.

"My friend here would like an autograph. If you wouldn't mind, Captain." The request fell from strawberry lips and revealed her voice for the first time. Steve felt himself gulp stiffy at its velvety smoothness.

He blinked to recover, accepting the extended paper with his own plague of mutism.

She was breathtaking, down right spellbinding with those contrasting features. Charcoal black waves, though tucked back neatly in pins, heightened the creamy smooth ivory of her skin.

"Who, um, who should I make it out to?" Steve nearly drowned in the churning teals that stared back at him from under long, thick lashes.

"Lydia." Edie answered cooly, locked gaze never faltering.

"Beautiful."

The Captain remarked more towards the woman in front of him than the name.

Their meeting was brief and hastily brought to an end by the growing concession of nurses that pried for an autograph and a chance to swim in Steve's endless pools.

"Thank you! Thank you, Captain!" Lydia cheered, suddenly finding her voice. The eager nurse took her cue and slipped into Steve's view, vying for attention.

Edie took a step back and was quickly brought back to reality. She shook off the breathless jitters that invaded her senses and took leave back to the medic tent.

Steve felt his heart sink the moment Lydia stepped aside and revealed Edie's absence. He craned for a glimpse of her in the growing crowd with no avail. The New York native reluctantly swallowed his disappointment and donned a tight smile for the next set of animated nurses, all the while thinking of a particular outspoken heroine.

**-0-**

Several days later the Saints returned to the 107th, and resumed their march towards Azzano, where they fell into the hands of a battalion known as HYDRA. Two hundred Americans fought bravely but only fifty returned, the rest either killed or captured. Sergeant Barnes and Head Nurse Andrews could be counted amongst the captured. Whisked away to the snowy mountains of Austria Bucky and Edie found themselves prisoners of war. Subject to countless trials under the watchful eye of Dr. Zola.

Time passed like sand through an hour glass; slow but never ceasing. Ominously marching faster towards an unknown future. With no windows in their section of the factory the prisoners could only assume the track of dawn to dusk, from days to weeks. At first the battered remains of the 107th were held in cages, beaten and grilled relentlessly. It wasn't long before the interrogations escalated, becoming more grueling and inhumane in order to extract any sort of information. Cages were later replaced by cells as they were picked off one by one. Many didn't return but those who did were a hollow shell of what they used to be. Their bodies may have returned but their souls were stolen forever. A trophy on HYDRA's shelf of conquests.

They were given rations of food but Edie refused to eat. She would simply stare vacantly at the sorry excuse for a meal and nudge it towards Bucky, with an urge to keep his strength up. Often the two would stay huddled against one another for warmth and comfort. Side by side Edie and Bucky had endured torture, insults and brute tacticts at the hands HYDRA. Whether it be the faceless minions or a small man with oval glasses and a weak chin.

Cementing their already close bond. They reminded themselves at least they still had each other. At least they were still together.

That was until a tall, looming figure appeared at the door one evening. Cloaked in black he approached the two, sinister gaze fixated solely on Edie he knelt down to their huddled position.

"Come Fraulein, we have much in store for you." A glove extended forward, suffering promised in the creased leather.

Edie, as if she really had a choice, vowed to go quietly as long as Bucky was left unharmed.

The HYDRA commander donned a cheshire cat smile before nodding stiffly.

"Wait, Edie-" Panicked hands rooted her to Bucky's side.

Despite the teary glaze in Edie's eyes, her voice conjured a strength to soothe the trembling fingers traced through Bucky's chestnut hairline.

"Heyy, don't get all sentimental on me now."

The cool metal of handcuffs sent a shiver down Buck's spine as Edie looped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, James."

The Sergeant barely had time to register the brush of Edie's lips against his temple before she was torn away by the ever smiling commander.

Death seemed to cling to him like a second skin, following his every movement as he hoisted Edie upward and left Bucky with empty hands and a pounding heart.

"No wait, take me! Please-Edie!"

Bucky's pleading shouts choked against the cement walls, every muscle in his body tensed with an aggressive sickness. No amount of bargaining could undo her fate. The nurse turned back just in time to send Buck a watery smile before the door slammed with a chilling sentence.

Alone, Bucky kept a trained eye on the bolted door, counting the seconds and minutes that passed. The soldier sent a gritted prayer to the sky for Edie's safe return and fought the heavy fatigue that dared to drop his gaze from the archway.

His panic grew with each day that ticked by, manic scenes running through the soldier's battered mind.

He was sure he'd never see Edie again and just when despair dared to drag him down completely, the door opened.

Bucky's pleaded request was finally answered. Edie was returned to him, but her soul had found a new home.

The door's metallic creak pulled Buck's attention from the gray slates of cement beneath him. Gruff hands threw a familiar form into the room and vanished as soon as they appeared.

"Edie?!" Bucky was on his feet in an instant, handcuffs clinking with every step.

She landed on her side with a breathless grunt, black curls fanned in a tangle across the gritty floor.

"Are you alright? What did they do to you?" The Sergeant swarmed around Edith, scanning carefully for any injury but found none.

At least not on the surface.

He scooped her off the damp cement and into the tattered warmth of his uniform.

"I gotcha, Doll."

Edith stayed quiet and simply clung to the brunette with heaving breaths. Her mind numbed into a foggy mode of survival. Fatigue soon engulfed her and Bucky protectively watched over as Edie fluttered in and out of consciousness.

During one afternoon after her return Edith lay tucked against the Sergeant's side, cheek nestled into the relaxed muscles of his uniform clad thigh.

"We're getting you out of here. I promise." Bucky vowed absently to the chilled air, neck supported by the wall.

Edie answered only with shallow breaths.

"What 'ya gonna do when you get back?" A calloused hand combed through the nurse's raven hair, massaging a pattern over the scalp beneath. A common gesture Edie had done to him so many times before, it was like second nature.

Again he was answered with silence.

Bucky licked the chapped skin of his lips, "Catch a movie? You said how much you like that one dame's films…" He paused, trying to pull conversation from her. "What was her name again?"

Bucky watched Edie's profile carefully, dark lashes fluttered slowly and continued to stare into the blank abyss.

He tried again, "She was in that one. _Top Hat_, right?"

Buck found himself with a weak smile when Edie finally acknowledged him, contributing a small nod against his leg.

"Ginger, was it? Ginger Rogers?"

Bucky swore he caught the remnants of a smile whisper along her rose petal lips, a bit of Edie surfacing before him.

Subconsciously Bucky drew her closer, draping an arm over her slumped shoulder as he swallowed the frustrated anger that pooled in his chest.

He failed her, at least in his own mind. Bucky blamed himself for their capture and his unsuccessful attempt to get Edie away from it all, only to land right in the hands of Schmidt, the warmonger himself.

"_Heaven...I'm in heaven_." The raspy voice pulled Bucky back from his thoughts. A voice he hardly recognized to be hers. Though before he could question Edie's random string of words, she continued.

"_And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak."_

Buck recognized the hum of the song. Tightness coiled around his throat but he dared not interrupt.

"_And I seem to find the happiness I seek_." Tears overflowed in silent streams down Edie's face and blotched the dusty olive material beneath.

"_When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek_."

So distracted by the break in her silence Bucky was oblivious to the slow swirl of white that consumed Edie's right eye and the surge of healing energy that invaded his veins from the nimble hand upon his thigh.

Days later those gruff hands returned and this time for both Americans. Wordlessly they snatched the two from the dank confines of the cell and hauled them down an endless hallway.

"Where are you taking us?" Buck asked with a struggle over the heavy thud of boots.

As expected they were given no explanation, silently shoved from one cell to the next, however this time the confinements were a neatly furnished laboratory.

After strapping the two down to cold, unforgiving metal gurneys the black armored minions took their leave. The silence was deafening. Unnerving of what was to come.

Bucky studied Edie's profile, fatigued with a blank stare towards the ceiling. He reached out and just barely met the cusp of her hand.

"_Heaven, I'm in heaven_."

The Sergeant recited, hoping to offer Edie a small scrap of comfort. He was cut short by an opening door.

"Is that what you would call it Sergeant Barnes?" A thick accent followed and Bucky witnessed the ripple of panic across Edie's face at the mere sound.

"Interesting, I'd love to hear your definition of hell then." Dr. Zola erupted a fit of throaty cackles.

"What do you want from us? Haven't you put her through enough?" Bucky tensed against the straps, following the small scientist's steps closer.

"It is not you that we are interested in, Sergeant. It is your friend here."

Buck jarred harder as Zola panned a hand possessively through Edie's thick hair, a sadistic smile etched across his lips.

"It would appear she does not value her own life and therefore will not cooperate. But I believe there is one thing she _does _value." Zola cemented his statement with a hardened gaze towards the Sergeant and it was Edie's turn to protest.

"No, you promised he wouldn't be hurt."

Just when the scientist opened his smug little mouth to reply the overhead lights flickered in unison with Edie's flared temper.

Zola's eyes, cold and calculating, inspected the malfunctioning lamps and his smile only grew.

"Ahh, I was correct. Looks like we _have_ found your trigger, Fraulein. Herr Schmidt will be quite pleased! It is working flawlessly. "

"What did you do to her?"

Bucky's confusion only grew and the tightness of panic formed in his stomach as Zola yanked Edie's face into view.

The emerald of her right eye had vanished and a white iris stared back at him instead.

"Nightingale?"

Edie's chin buckled with a deep, shaky breath.

It was too much. All too much. A cooling sensation spread throughout her body in response to the threat on Bucky's life, making her rage uncontrollable.

"I'll do what you want. Anything." A choked bargain was offered to the HYDRA scientist.

Buck quickly interjected at Edie's surrendered tone.

"Edie, no. Don't do this."

Her weak, tear stained smile heightened Bucky's fear.

"As long as Sergeant Barnes isn't hurt."

Bucky growled in pure helpless frustration at the sight of Edie's tears, he yanked harder against the thick binding straps.

"See that's all we want, Fraulein." Zola cooed in a sickly sweet tone that had bile rising in Edie's throat.

"But just know, if you don't play along. We will be forced to find other ways to coerce that power from you." The heavy Swedish accent found the shell of Edie's ear.

"Because you are ours now, my dear. You belong to HYDRA."

The nurse's life sentence was punctuated with the silent pressing of a button which summoned the previous guards.

Bucky watched as the men roughly unhinged Edie from the leather clawed gurney, while Zola casually flipped a switch. Some feet away a fluorescent light clicked and buzzed to reveal a once hidden room just beyond a plate of crystal glass.

With a front row seat Buck witnessed Edie's escorted walk into that very room and the chilling buzz of the door lock.

"What are you doing?"

The New Yorker's question fell of deaf ears.

Dr. Zola smiled knowingly as the men began to stalk Nurse Andrews into a corner.

"Edie!"

Buck jarred when she struggled to block the guards advances, a right hook landed against her cheek, another hand finding her hair with a rough yank.

Though blocked by a wall of HYDRA men, Edie felt the vibration of Bucky's panicked heart as if it were her own. His pulse pounded in her ears and fueled her drive to fight back. Seemingly only armed with her bare hands Edie relied on her combat skills and swiftly began to not only block the hits but also deliver her own.

Meanwhile, just beyond the glass Bucky begged for Edie's life.

"Please stop this! What information do you want? Huh? I'll tell you, anything. Just, stop!"

Never taking those beading, dark eyes off Edie's fighting form, the scientist revealed a dark secret.

"Oh, Serg. Barnes we are no longer interested in information. Only complete domination. And your friend there, Nightingale I believe you called her, is going to give it to us."

Buck followed the scientist's motion left, towards a pile of rubbled stone that lay neatly in a glass case.

"You should be proud, she has been the only one to survive."

Buck thought of all the men and women that had been chosen and never came back.

"She now holds the power of a god."

Bucky's panic grew with Zola's smile.

"And belongs to us."

The fragments of information lay heavy on the soldier's mind but a feminine grunt brought them back to the window.

"Tsk, tsk. It would appear she needs another push."

He murmured lowly at the sight of Edie's punches and quick kicks. The men had been reduced to beaten pulps on the glossy floor but they were still breathing. That wasn't good enough. Zola adjusted the position of his glasses before sounding over the intercom.

"Fraulein, you're holding back."

Edie squinted narrowly to the owner of the looming voice, spatting the pooled blood from her mouth in his direction.

But before she could muster a bite back Zola offered a reminder to their agreement, in the form of a cool barrel against Bucky's temple.

Despite the glaring lights above, Edie found her best friend's face. Bound and painted in fear.

Knowing what she had to do the nurse took a gritted breath in and welcomed the cooling sensation that began to pry its way across her body.

Buck swallowed thickly at the transformation unraveling before him, white irises bore through the glass where regretful jade used to reside and a dark glow of teal began to spider over Edie's exposed flesh.

Instinctively, he clamped his eyes shut with a wince as soon as Edie grabbed one of the beaten guards and a fluster of pleaded grunts followed. The next finding a similar fate until Edie was the only one left breathing.

It was seconds later that Zola sighed a shallow praise.

"Wunderbar."

With hesitation the soldier dared to rejoin the room, casting hooded eyes towards the once crystal clear glass. Through the splattered ribbons of dripping blood, Bucky made out the heaving figure which stood in the middle of it all.

Edie, or what remained of her.

It would be days later, involving a miscommunicated order to the guards and bonded instinct to a certain soldier that would awaken that very rage again. But there would be no containment room and there would be no stopping completely by the power that consumed her, Edie would kill countless guards, level a portion of the factory and nearly harm the very life she strived to protect.

It would be the last time her and Bucky saw each other. Torn apart, soon it wouldn't just be walls between them but decades. Despite his fight to find her again, Bucky was forced to leave the nurse behind when Captain America came to the rescue. But he never stopped fighting, never halted his own investigation to find Edie even in his last hours.

The outburst would reveal her full potential and land Edie in complete isolation. Under strict control of Dr. Zola to ensure her obedience and perfect the foreign power that coarsed through her veins. Edie was to be the new weapon in Schmidt's hands, to eliminate all those who opposed him.

But as you know, things didn't go as planned for the war hungry commander. Edie would later find herself in the belly of a HYDRA aircraft, commandeered by a blond Captain.

Amidst the fall of HYDRA Zola maintained his loyalty, destroying all evidence of the discovered stone and the one who now held its power.

It would be years later, after the reunion of lovers and old friends and the threat on their lives that the energy would be awakened and story revealed.

With the help of a downloaded HYDRA file and a blond Asgardian the Avengers would learn not only the truth but the tale of the goddess Nyara and the power taken from her.

* * *

Thanks for reading my loves! Next few chapters will be chock-full of info to better help draw everything together. Read and review! Xoxo xoxo xoxo


	11. Trust yourself

Now this is more like it, right? Two updates in one week.

Enjoy lovely readers!

* * *

**Present Day**

Edie's right hook landed against the extended pad in front of her, and Steve could instantly feel the restraint.

"You're holding back, Doll." He pointed out, leather palms falling to his sides. The Captain ducked to follow his wife's downcast gaze. She hadn't been too keen on the idea of a training session but Steve insisted she needed to blow off some steam.

_'I blew off enough steam when I nearly took out the whole team.'_ Edie had grumbled to herself.

"No I'm not." She denied to the floor.

"Oh, you aren't?" Steve countered the obvious lie. Edie watched his sudden turn, "let's play a little rougher than."

The fluorescent lights above met the metallic surface of the shield with a refractive gleam.

"Do you remember Shanghai?"

Edie narrowed to read his meaning, "Of course I do. You accidently ordered squid."

Her weak smile grew full at the sound of his hearty laugh, the one that made her heart swell and pulse even with elation.

Steve's hand dropped from his chest and he gave a dramatic shudder at the memory before getting back on track, "That's what I get for trying to impress you with a different language. But I was referring to the mission."

"An ex-military group planned a coo; we interfered before they could kidnap the Ambassador." Edie recalled.

Blonde hair bobbed in agreement at the summary of the task they'd been assigned not so long ago. Just before everything turned messy. Back when they were just a couple of newly wed Super Soldiers carrying out peace-seeking missions for their government, or so they thought.

"They had me pinned, my shield lost in the crowd. And what did you do?"

Hesitation wrinkled her brow, reservation threaded Edie's expression "I..I grabbed the shield and found you."

Her vague synopsis shed little light on Edie's heroic actions that day. She'd taken out heavily armed culprits left and right, freeing hostages all en route to help the Brooklyn native.

Steve crossed the gym floor, stopping just short of her "You saved me, Edie."

A broad hand slipped up the curve of her jaw and pried those sorrowful greens from the mats.

"Just like you've been doing since the moment we met. You have to trust yourself."

The Healer chewed nervously on the plumpness of her lower lip. The horror of what her hands did-what they _could _do, weighed Edie down with every step.

"I can't hurt you again."

The soldier's heart sank but he dared not let it touch his smile. "You won't. Come'on let's go again. For real this time"

Subconsciously Edie's eyes found the cameras tucked neatly in the corners, reminding of her containment.

Steve reeled her back.

"Hey, don't look at them. Look at me." His smile widened as Edie followed the request. "It's just you and me, Doll."

With a heavy intake of breath, Edie rolled the muscles of her neck slowly. Blue met green in a locked gaze before a shuffle of feet filled the air. This time that right hook met the face of the shield with a vibrating blow and neither could cage the smile of surprise.

"There's my girl." Steve praised from behind the metallic curve.

Edie gained back some confidence with the help of the soldier's encouragement. The two began to feed off each other's advances, mapping the room with blocked hits and quick reflexes. They began to fall into a comfortable pattern.

"Is that all you got, Gorgeous?"

Edie grinned wickedly at the sound of her husband's taunting, watching him bounce from one agile foot to the other.

Her fists idled in the air, "I could do this all day."

She added a playful wink.

Steve began a whined protest at the mocked response but swiftly ducked at the sudden pulse of blue energy that whizzed past his head as the Healer delivered a combo of jabs.

"Steve!" Edie jolted forward, joining him on the cushiony mats below. She covered his body with her own as a clatter erupted behind them.

"Are you alright? Did I hit you?" Inspecting her soldier for any sign of injury.

Steve's eyes darted between his kneeled wife and the crippled remains of the lifting bench just a few feet away. The steel lay twisted and mangled as if made of only tin foil.

"We may just need to work on dialing it back a bit." A nervous chuckle joined the air but died in an instant at the sight of the blue rivers pulsing up Edie's arms.

"Edie, are you alright?"

A dumbfounded expression leaked across her ivory complexion and Edie quickly shuffled back.

"It's nothing." She pulled tighter on the long sleeves of her shirt with a turn.

Knowing what he saw and exactly when Edie was lying the Captain was on his feet, chest walled against the smaller woman's back. Steve slipped his hands up the fabric of Edie's arms to reveal the dark teal patterns once more.

Caged against the wall of a man without an inch to move, she accepted defeat and became lax in his grasp. The steady thumping of Steve's healthy and strong heart began to envelope Edie in a tranquil wave, fading the intricate webs with each passing beat. That familiar purr surfaced with approval in the back of her mind, crooning under Steve's delicate touch.

His voice was low around the shell of Edie's ear "When did this start?"

Defeat dripped from the Healer's tone, as if ashamed for not knowing its true origin.

"After I got back."

Again, Steve kept his words quiet in hopes of not raising suspicion from the eyes above. "Pierce did this to you?" He concluded, tracing broad digits along the supple skin of Edie's forearms.

"I can't be sure, I just know that it happens when I lose control or when you're.." Hesitation stole Edie's words.

The muscles around her shifted, pulling her face into the Captain's view.

"When I'm what, Doll?"

Edie stared up at those soulful eyes, so tender and welcoming with their swirls of baby blue and flecks of olive green.

Those eyes, that face, this man.

He was what fueled Edie's every movement, every breath. The spark that fed the urge to protect and awakened the energy that had been buried deep all those years ago. An energy that lay dormant, until now.

She cupped the swells of Steve's cheeks, admiring the illumination of his irises in the glow of her wrists

"Threatened."

**-0- A few halls away…**

"Please tell me you're joking."

Fury's weathered expression never faltered. Detached and guarded, as always. His tall form stood erect at the helm of the stretched table.

"Steve, is not going to go for this at all. He nearly flipped his neatly combed top at the one hour restriction." Tony pointed out, speaking in the soldier's absence.

"Which I too find to be a bit much. We've got Rosie the Riveter under solitary confinement, for God's sake. Now you want to take her to some remote island and strap her down like a lab rat, as if she hasn't had enough of that. " The billionaire summarized the already hour long meeting to determine Edie's future.

"She's not as innocent as you or Captain Rogers like to think she is." Fury countered, watching with a gritted jaw at Tony's priorities, or lack thereof. The genius more focused on perfecting his grape catching skills than laying out the conditions of Edie's release. Hatch wide open, neck craning to follow the purple orbs.

"We all have our secrets." Tony quirked a dark brow, popping the nearly missed grape between a pearly smile.

"Yes, Mr. Stark and hers consists of a traitor's past and an agenda to wipe us all out."

Tony refused to believe Hill's rebuttal, not after that moment during the attack when Edie returned.

_Let go Anthony, I've got you._

Those words, that moment, as fleeting as they were meant something. Tony couldn't shake it. Those swirling jade eyes promised peace and protection, not carnage. They kept him up, disturbed what little sleep he actually got. Not to mention, the testimonial of Sergeant Barnes that refuted the leaked documents.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Mariah. And we haven't proved those files are legit."

"Maria." The Agent corrected.

"That's what I said. Are we done here? I've got things I've gotta do." Tony collapsed his legs from the table top and stood with an elaborate stretch.

"You think they're fake?" Natasha asked, intrigue pinching her veiled eyes.

"I have my sources." A sneaky wink found the Assassin.

"JARVIS, would you get someone in here to take care of this table? Find out what happened to it." Tony motioned towards the large crack spidering across the marbled top.

"Ladies, Gents." He dipped a farewell.

"We've barely begun-Stark, where are you going?"

Fury struggled to wrangle the man-child, who slipped out of the conference room door like a neatly suited eel.

"What about the codes?!" The Director bellowed, voice cut through the closing door.

"Can't hear you! Going through a tunnel."

A manicured hand flew up with a wave and the group was left to watch Tony's back disappear down the corridor.

"Meeting adjourned?" Sam assumed, easing up from his chair.

"Not even in the slightest." The remaining members watched as they were each slid a file. "Doctor Banner we're going to need your help on this one."

"Sir?" Heavy brows lifted with curiosity. Spanning through the various diagrams, the information prompted Bruce to remove his glasses and stare questionably at the Director.

"Are you sure about this? We aren't dealing with rabid dogs here, sir. These are very confused and fragile people."

Tanned fingers traced the crude diagram of an armed ankle monitor. One that would be placed on both Bucky and Edith. The device would record any amount of motion that could be viewed as a threat. A raised heart beat. A pulse of adrenaline. Any sign of a possible repeat in events would be snuffed out with a heavily dosed tranquilizer directly into the bloodstream. The monitors would also be equipped to correlate with each other. If Bucky tried to leave, not only would he, himself be debilitated with a nerve ending shock, so would Edie. And vice versa.

"At this point both Barnes and Edith are to be considered HYDRA operatives and will be treated as such. I will **not** let the events of just a few days ago happen again."

**-0-**

Strolling into the lab, Tony couldn't halt the sudden grin of pride.

There Bucky stood, manning the controls with less hesitation and even, conversing with JARVIS. They'd been meeting more often, strategizing in complete secrecy.

It was Tony's voice that pulled Bucky's eyes from the holographic screen.

"What's cookin' Serg?" Nimble fingers adjusted his cufflinks and tie.

"Everything's all set, I think. Don't forget these."

A metallic palm gently offered a freshly encrypted flash drive and earpiece.

"Aww, and here I didn't get you anything."

Not even the hint of amusement surfaced on the Winter Soldier's face. Grim and focused, as if holding his breath. He knew the risks of their mission. The mission only the two of them knew about.

"Tough crowd." Tony deflated.

"Alright so, you'll be my eyes and ears in the belly of the beast. I run the program and I'm out. In and out." Calloused index and thumb jerked through the air dramatically.

"Anything, I mean anything, looks suspicious let me know. Pierce so much as scratches his head I wanna know. This meeting is just to get my foot in the door, if it goes south..well then we'll definitely have to improvise. Which I'm stellar at, by the way, but let's not test the waters if we don't have to."

Bucky nodded with understanding, following Tony's movements as he placed the earpiece and then tucked the silver drive securely up his sleeve.

"Don't answer the door for anyone and don't stay up too late now, boys. Be back in a jiffy." Tony jested with a parental tsk, striding towards the door.

"Hey, Stark."

He turned in time to hear the muffled skid of plastic against metal.

"One for the road. Good luck."

There was that smile again, Tony couldn't fight it.

"Thanks, Rambo."

The billionaire swiped the frosty drink from the counter, secured the door and disappeared out of sight. Glossy dress shoes clicking all the way.

**-0- Steve's POV: Bucky's containment room, later afternoon.**

Why was I so nervous? I'd known him my entire life. What I've live of it, that is.

Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.

But was this the same person? With the disheveled appearance, long hair and metal arm. The one that both took and returned Edie to me.

It was hard to tell from a distance. I had to go in. I had to talk to him. My fingers hovered over the illuminated keypad for the fifth time already, twitching as my heart and mind wrestled. I had to get answers. Answers to the questions that had swarmed my mind like an angry hive of bees since the moment he'd returned. I needed the truth. We all did.

"You're all clear to go in, sir." Agent Danner, with his timid voice, read my hesitation but didn't dare acknowledge it. Watching the monitors with great interest, it was just him and I.

This young man, who had flagged me down for an autograph just recently, assured that Fury didn't need to be present. I suddenly had _'plenty of clearance'_ or so he said.

So before I could second guess myself again, the security pad glowed green with approval and I found the air in my lungs tense. The steel doors soon disappeared, but my anxiety did not.

It heightened.

Bucky wouldn't even look at me, or acknowledge my very existence. Instead he kept a trained eye on the up and down motion of the glass orb returning to his hand.

I swallowed my own defeat and decided to break the ice, inching farther into the room.

"Hey, Buck."

Nothing, not so much as a glance. His silence only seemed to pull more words from me.

"Look, I know I haven't been by and I'm sorry. It's just everything that's happened. Everyone's been a bit on edge..and I..I'm trying though. Vouching for you both, to get you out. I've checked in on you a couple of times. Not that that's enough..I know."

God, he was like a statue. So stoic and reserved.

"Edie misses you, talks about you all the time. I heard you called her a pain in the ass?"

Not even my laugh or the mention of Edith could get him to budge.

"She definitely keeps ya on your toes." I absently kicked my toe against the floor. It's glossy sheen reflected the defeat in my eyes.

"She's great though, isn't she?...I never got the chance to thank you for bringing her back to me. I don't know what I would have done if..if.."

Here I was pouring my heart out, practically on my knees begging for even so much as a grunt of acknowledgement. A harsh word, at least. Anything.

The silence was deafening.

"God, Buck come'on. At least look at me!"

My feet marched to the edge of his bed. Teeth gritted I was ready to snatch that damn ball mid-air when I noticed it. The tiniest, barely detectable twitch. Scanning over his body more closely this time, I made out the small pixels.

This wasn't Buck, this wasn't even a person.

A hail storm of emotions rained down on my shoulders. Confusion bubbled to frustration which liquified to anger. One name came to mind, practically written all over this advanced technology.

Stark.

In a fluid motion I nodded a faked goodbye as to not raise any suspicion from Agent Danner and was back through the steel doors.

My internal GPS was mapping the halls and corners as quickly as my feet could take me.

**-0-**

**Meanwhile, Triskelion building**

"Cucumber water, really?" Tony shook his head at the offer, just as the door closed softly behind the overly polite secretary. She had assured Pierce would be in momentarily as soon as he finished up with another meeting.

_I'm sure HYDRA has a busy schedule_, Tony voiced to only his conscious or whatever Tony Stark has instead.

"A bit much." Tony skirted around the massive desk, with its metallic plates gleaming and hard drive just begging to be infiltrated.

"Alright baby, open up for daddy. Let's see what we're working with." Furious fingers tapped against the keys. Bypassing through the security precautions with ease. Plastic clicked against plastic as the flash drive found its place.

"How we looking, Serg.?"

Miles away and on the edge of his seat Bucky scanned the grainy camera feeds.

"All good. Pierce is a few levels below. No sign of movement."

The soldier watched with concentration, dividing his attention between each monitor. He knew the importance of keeping a trained eye on the older man.

Tony had requested a meeting with the executive under false pretenses of supplying SHIELD with project funding. But in reality it was all a charade to gain entrance into the harddrive and plant a ghost program, one that would give them eyes and remote access to the true files tucked away in HYDRA's neatly hidden drawers.

"Initiating CASPER."

Data filtered across the screen in green pixelated sequences. A sigh of triumph passed through the genius and he took a moment to relax. Legs stretched across the desk and hands weaved at the base of his neck.

"God, I'm clever. I mean like award-winning clever."

Tony praised himself, beginning to explain the depths of the acronym. Bucky only had time to muster an eye roll before a bing of approval sounded from behind and the sliding of metal had him stalled. Whipping around he was met with a familiar face, equally as dumbfounded.

"Bucky?"

Steve felt all rage evaporate at the gaze that met his, pouring with warm recognition.

Emotion drove the brunette to leave his post. The only thought on his mind was the overwhelming joy of being reunited with the Brooklyn native, not leaving Tony vulnerable.

"Hey, Punk."

Steve's mouth went dry and his heart began racing with all the things he wanted to say. But was only able to conjure a mirrored greeting.

"Hey, Jerk."

Years, countries and war had separated them, yet when that signature smirk broke out across Bucky's face, offering the Captain a crinkled and knowing look, it was all forgotten. Steve was no longer a stoic Captain with a strategy or a branded traitor of this great country. He was just a guy from Brooklyn who was catching up with an old friend. Before he could even register his movements Steve welcomed the chiling metal of Bucky's arm as they embraced.

"Is that my shirt?"

Blush rosied the Sergeant's cheeks, drawing both their attention towards the familiar button up.

"Oh, uh yeah actually. It would seem we can share clothes now. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, not the first thing you've borrowed."

Steve joined in on Buck's puffing laugh. But the longer it hung between them, the more Steve's statement took on another meaning that had Barnes scrambling with an answer and an apology.

Edie.

"About that, Steve I'm really sorry. I wish I could give you this long, detailed explanation and assure it would never happen again. But the thing is, I can't. I didn't have control..and neither did she..I just.." Bucky's eyes studied the pattern of his shoes.

Avoiding eye contact was a nervous tic of his. One Steve hadn't realized he missed. Something so simple and familiar, it was like being home again. That same feeling he got whenever Edie was near. Broad hands spanned to grip Buck's shoulders, waking him back from the staring contest with the floor.

"No, Buck I didn't mean it like that. I was talking about the time you borrowed my math book and somehow it ended up across George Miller's nose."

Bucky's smile returned and reached those velvety blues.

"But we can't forget the time you borrowed my beloved Dodgers hat to impress some dame, which you failed miserably at, I might add." Steve lead them down memory lane with a cocky smirk, arms folded over his chest when he watched Buck's head roll back against his shoulders.

"Ol' Georgie Miller had it coming. How many times were you going to let him call you 'Mary' after he found out about you liked art? And I have you know I didn't fail with that dame, Ellen Patterson. Ended up with a kiss that night. I needed the hat after I heard she only dated athletes." Bucky countered quite satisfied with himself.

"Yeah, and she was already dating an athlete. You met him that night, left you with a nice little souvenir too." Steve motioned towards his left eye, reminding of the shiner he'd earned.

"Totally worth it." He winked before adding "But I don't have to tell you that."

The Captain followed the nod towards the silver band around his finger.

Steve felt himself exhale an elated puff of air, admiring the simple metal that held so much meaning. Despite Steve's assurance that he wasn't blaming Buck for the capture of Edie, he could still see the guilt weighing on his best friend and it aged him. Aged him those 70 years in an instant.

"Bucky, I mean it. You brought her back and that's what matters. We are going to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this. To end this. I already lost you once, both of you and I'm not about to let HYDRA do it again. But we're going to need your help. Anything. Everything. That might be important, we need to know."

"Anything." He vowed, "I'd do anything for her."

The soldiers mirrored a grinned nod of understanding before reality tapped them on the shoulder.

"Rambo, you still there? Hellooo?" A forgotten voice sang over the intercom and snapped the men's attention.

Close on the Sergeant's heels Steve studied the screens, recognizing Tony's suited form nestled behind the expensive desk.

"Tony! What are you doing?"

"Aw come on' Rambo I thought we had a deal. Pretty simple, really." Tony shook his head in dramatic defeat. "Don't tell Blondie."

"Tony get out of there now, this is too risky."

"Always so stern, Captain-see this is why I didn't want him to know, he never lets me have any fun."

With the green progress bar almost completely filled, their mission was nearing a close.

Just when Steve was about to scold another command, movement from another monitor warned of the dwindling clock.

"Stark, get out of there. Pierce is on the move."

A crisply tailored suit marched down the hall and towards the elevators just three floors below.

"Not just yet."

**95%**

"Tony!" Both veterans barked urgently.

Grainy metallic doors opened and swallowed the executive.

**97%**

"You're going to get caught and this whole thing is going to blow up in your face, Stark. Now move your ass!"

Tony white knuckled the desktop, coaching the program with gentle words and little regard to the strong commands in his ear.

Steve gritted his strong jaw, fighting the thoughts that surfaced.

_I'll never be able to make it there in time. Even with Sam's gear_.

**98%**

Pierce reappeared on the same floor as Tony.

Too close for comfort.

"Come onnnn, baby." Words of encouragement ushered through perfect teeth.

**-0-**

"Nadia please cancel the rest of my meetings this afternoon, I have a terrible headache." Pierce mumbled absently over his shoulder.

"But sir, Mr. Stark is here to see you. He's in your office."

The information, spoken in a shaky voice from the receptionist, had the older man spun around on his heels. With his reputation as a loose cannon, habit of playing by his own rules and the family-like relationship he had with the very Super Soldiers HYDRA was trying to snuff out, Tony Stark couldn't be trusted.

"What? In my office? _Alone_?" He blurted, wide eyed and panicked.

Disrupting the still office air with wild suspicion, Alexander Pierce barreled through the door.

"You should come by the Avengers Tower sometime, I've got quiet the simulator for that. Plus, endless floors of executive retreat. We'll make a day of it. All on the house, of course-"

Tony swiveled towards the abrupt noise.

"Lovely of you to finally join us." He greeted in a cheeky tone.

"I was just telling Bart here, to come to New York. Check out the sights, visit the Avengers tower. Once remodeling is completed, of course. Took quite a beating."

Pierce eyed the billionaire as he stepped aside to reveal a young man, clad in a SHIELD security uniform and clearance badge.

But before he could respond, Tony expressed a deeply regretful farewell, blaming a tight schedule and scenes of what might happen if he didn't follow Pepper's neatly organized itinerary.

"I'll walk you out, Mr. Stark." The young security guard nodded towards his boss's direction and mirrored Tony's foot steps.

"Oh, before I forget." Nimble fingers clasped onto the older man's shoulder, slipping a crisp STARK labeled business card into Pierce's pocket. "Here's my card, we'll reschedule this meeting but if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. After all, us businessmen have to stick together."

Tony lowered his voice to Alexander's ear before a silent gush of air followed the closing doors.

"Thank you again, Nadia. That cucumber water, ah! So refreshing."

The two exchanged a giddy wave before Tony and the officer retreated down the pristine hallway and into the elevators.

"I appreciate the hospitality but I think I can take it from here, Champ." Tony expressed with a quick replacement of his sunglasses.

"Actually we've got other plans for you, _Mr. Stark_."

The younger man grinned just as the mechanical doors opened to the parking garage.

Tony noted the suspicious tone and gauged the younger man's profile that disappeared in a fluid motion. The masking software was disengaged to reveal a familiar face, and precise marksmanship.

"Legolas?"

The assassin nodded a cheeky wink before revealing another trick, literally up his sleeve.

With expert skill Hawkeye shot electrical arrows from the miniature bow tucked up his suit jacket, towards the beady eyed cameras. The currents short circuited the building's feed and covered their tracks.

"What the hell?" Tony gapped just as a sleek black sedan made its appearance.

"Get in. We'll explain later, Champ." Hawkeye nodded as he opened the door.

"_We_?"

It wasn't until both Tony and Clint were secured in the back seat that the driver greeted them, red hair tucked neatly under a chauffeur's cap.

"Buckle up boys, it might get bumpy."

"Nat?" Tony plastered a hand over his face with a heavy sigh, "Does the whole tri-state area know about this?"

"Not if we're good at our jobs they won't." Clint nudged from beside the Man of Iron, but Tony didn't share the humor.

"Nat are you like, ever not eavesdropping? For crying out loud."

"Oh I'm sorry should we have not saved your ass? You were about to get caught and this whole thing would have blown up in your face."

Where had he heard that before?

A standoff unraveled in the rearview, between arched and neatly manicured brows.

"Finneee but did you really have to get Boy Wonder over here involved?"

Tony shooed away the piped 'hey' as Clint loosened his tie.

"From what I've heard I'm not the only one getting people involved."

Another standoff tensed between the two but was quickly smothered by a forgotten and Star-Spangled voice over Stark's earpiece.

"Tony? What the hell is going on? We lost our eyes over here."

Dark chocolate orbs rolled with collective thoughts

"All clear Daddy-o, picked up a couple of hitchhikers along the way."

Before popping out the device Tony sent one last quip towards the overheating Captain.

"By the way, you kiss Betty with that mouth?"

**-0-**

Knowing there was no getting around it, Tony dropped the act and caved. Gathered in the lab he let the team in on the project. All except Edie, who was currently under Bruce's care for testing and unknown to the rest of the group but that included measurements for the monitor. Thor, well actually they weren't exactly sure what Point break was up to at the moment so they couldn't tell him and Fury was left out for obvious reasons, of course.

"Why didn't you tell us from the beginning? We could have helped. We are a _team_, Tony."

Steve dropped a folder of compiled information he'd been flipping through.

"You know me, I prefer not to share the glory."

Tony hid behind his cocky reputation.

The Captain could read through the bluff but before he could press any further Natasha asked a valid question.

"So what's the plan?"

Tony exchanged a look with Bucky as if to ask if he should tell them. A simple shrug encouraged the genius.

"We wait."

It was the team's turn to eye them with suspicion.

"Wait?..that's your big plan?"

"You got a better idea, _Bart_?" Tony referenced the alias taken on by the Agent to get into the Triskelion building.

"Yeah, maybe the opposite? Take action." Clint scoffed in disbelief.

"It's not that simple, Tony has a point."

Everyone turned to the sound of the Brooklyn native's statement.

"I'm sorry did you just admit I was right?"

Steve already began to regret it by the look of triumph on Tony's face.

"We all know Edie is innocent and while all this information is great. It's not the right information. It's everything we've already known, we need new evidence. New even to Fury and that means we wait for it to surface."

Tony caught Hawkeye's nod of understanding.

"I'm sorry, did you just agree with him? He literally just said what I said."

The Assassin shrugged with a smirk at the vein throbbing on Tony's temple.

"Eh, must be the deliverance. He's got a way with words."

A tanned hand plastered across the billionaire's face in defeat, "Children, I'm working with children. Children with weapons."

Clint had just started in on Tony's muttering jabs and Steve, of course had to play referee, when a collage of windows cluttered the once blank computer screen.

"Um, Steve."

Buck nudged his friend's shoulder, pointing a silver finger towards the wall mounted monitor. "Is that new enough for you?"

The room enveloped into a stilled silence, the team's attention focused solely on the rapid downloads flashing across the huge monitor.

Steve's chest tightened at the title bolded above the filtering data.

**ZOLA FILES**

HYDRA had discovered a way to recover some of the information compiled in the scientist's technologized brain and the team was getting a front row seat to all that remained thanks to Tony's ghosting software.

"It worked!-I mean, of course it worked." Tony quickly swallowed his surprised triumph, "Looks like a hefty transfer. JARVIS, ETA?"

"A few hours sir, give or take. There is quite a bit of data to configure." the AI gauged as pixel by pixel images began to come into view across the screen. Though still grainy a frame idled on the vast screen for all to see.

A lab.

A HYDRA lab and neatly placed in a glass observation case, the Tesseract stared back at the team. The room followed Bucky's step forward, honing in on what sat just opposite the Tesseract. The background was a bit too underdeveloped to fully recognize but to the Sergeant something seemed so familiar about the cases and their contents.

"What is that?-JARVIS zoom in on the right."

The AI followed Tony's request obediently, bringing the identical case into focus.

"It would appear to be some sort of stone, sir." JARVIS offered an explanation for the rather ordinary looking rock, egg shaped and earth toned. However, it was etched with an array of Celtic knots and appeared to emit a halo of dark teal. A color Tony and Steve found similar to the one that sparked from Edie's fingers when she lost control. Though neither dared to speak a word.

"Does anyone else recognize those markings?" Clint quizzed.

The team, aside from Buck, answered collectively. "Mjolnir."

"Should we call him?" Steve scanned the room.

"How does one call the god of thunder?" Nat countered a valid point.

"Rain dance?" Tony suggested, cringing at the domino of eyes rolls that plagued the audience.

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend or something?"

Tony couldn't resist, "Why? Jealous?"

Clint quickly retaliated with an expertly thrown paper ball, "Nooo, but I'm just saying. He had to have given her some way to contact him. Ya know something that might help us, because _I'm_ dedicated to this mission."

"Dedicated? You've been here two minutes. Don't give yourself too much credit, Peter Pan." Stark eyed the Agent's leotard-looking outfit he'd changed into once back.

"Its aerodynamic and actually quite comfortable."

Tony threw up his hands with faked understanding, "Oh, I'm sure they're all the rage at Spies R'Us."

Natasha quickly stepped in the middle, lowering Hawkeye's raised stapler. "Boys, Boys. Can we focus?"

Shooing away the murmured 'he started it' and prompt tongue wagging, Natatasha reconvened the conversation.

"Okay, Cap and Barnes you stay here, keep an eye on the download. Tony see about finding those launch codes before Fury has another fake heart attack. Clint and I will, do some recon on this love interest and meet you back here."

"Oh, sure leave me with the senior citizens!" Tony grumbled at the sight of Romanoff's cheeky wave as the lab door compressed close. His annoyance only grew at the confusion radiating from the less than tech savvy veterans who eyed the monitors with caution.

"JARVIS take the wheel." A prayer touched the ceiling.

With expert skill and all Stark's connections, not to mention the availability of advanced technology finding Jane Foster was easier than anticipated. Natasha and Clint tracked her down, and sent a cosmic energy wave to summon the Big Guy.

Tony, however, wasn't having such luck. Scrapping the idea of finding said codes, he instead devised a program to completely disarm and block the carrier's signals. Making them more like mega ton paper weights or so he boasts.

The hour had grown late and after the download had finished there was much to sift through with tired eyes. Clint and Natasha had since returned, good news in hand that Thor would be joining them.

"What do you we do now?"

The room seemed to collectively shrug in response. Steve rubbed a broad hand through spikes of blonde before sending a sigh to the floor.

"I guess we wait. Who knows how long it could take to get from Asgard."

"Well it is the weekend, so there may be some traffic." Tony earned a snorted laugh from Bucky, hoping to mask his confusion as to what exactly _Asgard_ was. Everyone else just sent the playboy an eye roll before taking a moment to stretch their stiffened muscles.

Baby blues churned to a sleepy gray the longer he stared at the computer screens, thick lashes fluttered in win a losing battle to stay alert.

Soon Steve allowed his head to nestle back into the leather plushness of the chair. Arms relaxed across his chest, long muscular legs bridged over a neighboring chair. Slumber beckoned him into the dark shadows of his eyelids. It wasn't long before the Captain wasn't the only victim of the long hours. The Sergeant, the Assassins and the Man of Iron followed suit. All strewn around the room in various positions, Tony's light snore an obscure lullaby.

**-0- Meanwhile….**

_Teddybear._

Edie stirred.

_Need._

The sheets tangled around her legs; growing restless. The strong physic and kind face of the Brooklyn native surfaced sharply in Edie's dreamy conscious.

_Find him._

Sleepy eyes fluttered open with a protesting groan.

_Now._

Edie bolted upright, pulsing rivers up her arms illuminated the bed in a deep, blue-green glow. With keen eyes she searched the room for her husband but came up empty, hence the throbbing urge to find him. To be near him. Despite her confusion, Edie's pulse was calm and she didn't dare fight it. She remembered Steve's soothing words: _You have to trust yourself. _

Dutifully she followed the instinct.

_Go. Now._

Edie hesitated at the sight of the tightly bolted door. A low, feminine growl answered from the depths of her mind. Grimacing slightly Edie felt an overwhelming flush of energy rush through her system. Before she knew it, she was marching towards the door. Powerless but consciously there Edie's every action was fueled by this growing desire and simmering rage that began to creep its way through her body. Every sense in search of the Captain.

The rivers of blue amplified to her fingertips with surging currents of power.

"Steve." This time it was Edie who growled, catching the beady eye of the camera.

"Agent Rogers. Stand down." An overhead command called out.

A twitching smirk turned its attention towards the metallic window. With a casual flick of Edie's wrist the glass shattered to her will like a leaf in the wind. Crystal shards crunched under foot as she climbed through the newly made escape route. Completely consumed, white irises found the quivering Agent sprawled against the floor but simply glazed over him with little interest. Edie instead sniffed the air, smile playful when she caught a familiar scent.

_Mate._

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review xoxoxoxoxxo


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